James Quick Tillis
James Tillis (born
July 5,
1957) is an American prizefighter, nicknamed "Quick".
Tillis grew up in a broken family with an alcoholic father and a deeply religious mother. He dreamed about being a professional
boxer after he listened to the 1964 bout between
Muhammad Ali and
Sonny Liston.
Tillis began his boxing career in 1978 with a first round knockout of
Ron Stephany. He won his first twenty fights with sixteen knockouts. One of his most impressive early victories was a seventh round knockout over the "Omaha Butcher"
Ron Stander. Stander had fought
Joe Frazier and was regarded as one of boxings most durable fighters.
In 1981, Tillis was given a title shot against champion
Mike Weaver, losing a fifteen round decision. Tillis began a comeback afterwards, winning eleven of his next thirteen fights. In 1982, he won a ten round decision against hard punching
Earnie Shavers. His record was then 30-4 with 24 knockouts.
His hopes for another title shot, however, were dashed in 1984 when he suffered a brutal beating at the hands of
Carl Williams (boxer). His career went into a decline afterwards and he was never again a high-ranked contender.
He was often used as "cannon fodder" against up and coming young fighters. He lost to
Pinklon Thomas,
Tim Witherspoon,
Marvis Frazier,
Gerrie Coetzee,
Tyrell Biggs,
Joe Bugner,
Frank Bruno,
Evander Holyfield,
Greg Page and
Tommy Morrison.
The aging boxer achieved a footnote in history when in 1986 he was the first man to last ten rounds against
Mike Tyson, when the latter was in his prime. Tillis fought off and on until 2001. Like so many other fighters, he stayed with boxing long past his prime because he needed the money. Tillis's record for his final 32 fights as a professional was 12 wins, 18 losses and two draws.
His daughter Iciss played
basketball at
Duke University as a center, was on the United States National Team for the 2003
Pan American Games, and was drafted in the first round by the
Detroit Shock in
2004.
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James Tillis at BoxRec.com
