Throw out his big name contests with Tillis and Coetzee. '78 to '84, what were Thomas's best showings? What were the toughest fights he got?
Ya, I can't believe that moment in round 7 where Thomas hits Tillis with 4 jabs, one right after another. Hell did Thomas have a jab!
Thomas, going into the Tillis fight, was starting to be seen in the mags & magazine ratings. But that was the first time he'd stepped into the ring against anyone credible. Were any bouts prior to the Tillis fight televised? Maybe the December 1979 bout against Bobby Jordan, when Pinklon stepped in for the ailing Tex Cobb. I believe that was part of an HBO Young Heavyweights card featuring Gerry Cooney and Greg Page. The other pre-Witherspoon bout that might be worth a look, and I believe I saw on TV when it happened (though not since), is the Alfonso Ratliff fight. Ratliff, at that point, had only lost to Tim Witherspoon and had beaten then-prospect Elijah Tillary in (I seem to remember) a network TV bout. Of course, Ratliff would go on to hold a cruiserweight title briefly and was thought of as someone who would test young Mike Tyson on the Spinks-Tangstaad undercard.
Several of Thomas's early fights were filmed. Jerry Williams, Acosta, Michael Greer, Bruce Grandham, and even Leroy Boone ib.
Interesting. Were those ESPN fights? It makes sense as Thomas was appearing in the mags prior to Tillis, and TV exposure certainly helps that happen.
I don't know. I would expect not as they were obviously not high profile fights. But I really don't know about networks and stuff, I just know the names.
