I would say your are right sir, but tbh I do not remember Tillman too well. Mainly just the Cooper fight.
Made his name by beating Mike Tyson twice in the amateur ranks at the 1984 US Olympic Trials/ Box-offs. Went on to win Olympic heavyweight gold at the Los Angeles games and then turned pro as a cruiserweight. Didn’t really seem to have the style or weapons needed to make a successful transition from the amateur game and so it proved with a early loss against Bert Cooper and then after regrouping was stopped in a unsuccessful cruiserweight title challenge by his former Olympic teammate, Evander Holyfield who unlike, Tillman, proved to have the perfect style and skill set to make the successful transition from the amateurs to the pro ranks. The only real notable thing Tillman did after that was to be chosen to be Tyson’s comeback opponent in 1990 after Tyson’s shock defeat against Buster Douglas. Predictably unlike their amateur bouts 6 years earlier, Tyson won with ease and scored a 1st round one punch KO.
I think the Holyfield beating ruined him. Cooper showed his defensive and chin liabilities That was a huge upset on paper. I think he may have rebounded and done a bit more at CW if he never had to face Holyfield. But Holyfield was the best at CW at that time and I don't think Tillman could have done much at HW even if he moved up before the Holyfield beating
Tillman had potential to be a much better, but his biggest problems as much as I hate to say it were his trainer Mercer Smith trying to wear too many hats as trainer, matchmaker, manager, etc... and Tillman having an inexperienced manager in Don Zuckerman, since the man literally had no experience in managing a fighter. Properly managing and developing a young pro fighter so that they reach their full potential is a lot harder than most people think. Considering Tillman’s advance age when he started boxing he needed a more experienced trainer and manager to properly (slowly) develop him, since although Smith was an excellent amateur coach and an excellent mentor for troubled youth he was in over his head trying to develop a raw talent like Tillman. Tillman simply didn’t have the foundation to be fast tracked to a titleshot like he was and certainly didn’t have enough ring craft or experience to make the jump to heavyweight and be successful.
What I remember about Henry was he was knocked out by Evander shortly before he (Henry) got married, and Holyfield was his best man at the wedding. (LOL) That's rough. When your best man beats you up on national television before your wedding, it's all downhill from there.
