james 'quick' tillis

I have already done a thread here in the classic section on Tillis.

Tillis was talented as a boxer, but only a "B" fighter at best... He never won a good fight with an "A" fighter.... Tillis blamed an alergic reaction to eggs for several losses, but he continued to lose big fights anyway...

After Tillis dropped that 10 rounder in '86 to Tyson on ABC TV, Tillis become a sorry ******* in the ring basically getting his ass kicked left and right and finishing with over 20 losses on his record....

MR.BILLatsch

 

Dude, its hiding in the archives somewhere.....:deal

 

I thought he gave a better showing against Tyson than he's usually give credited for.Tyson's power and ability to rock Tillis with almost every other power punch he landed was the difference in the fight,but I thought Tillis usually did the better work over the three minutes of the rounds.



And for a guy who was perceived by many to lack a chin and heart,he sure did well to survive ten rounds with Shavers.He was rocked - especially at the end of the second round - a few times earlier in the fight and dropped quite heavily in the ninth and still won a dominant decision.Cossell's comments on Tillis following the fight were amusing.

 

tillis was a good fighter with good skills. whatching him I always felt he was a frustrated southpaw, he often switched or changed direction with a right jab off the lefty stance. potentialy he was not too far away from the "lost generation" of belt holders talent wise.

He knew the game and once he made his name he made a decision to become a high class journeyman. No shame in that. He'd blown his title shot against weaver and had a name to sell so he took his name on the road.

what was he going to do? build short money wins as a "contender" down the card and hope to keep a ranking or take bigger purses against up and comers as the "opponent" in the main event. titles were sewn up anyway.

A lot of times tillis gave the prospect a low risk workout, went the distance in a main event bout just for the purse. He would be on auto pilot, survival mode, put on a show but not enough to win and come out unhurt ready for the next big thing who wanted to take on a name. Nobody was kicking his ass but he wasnt trying to win and the purses were good.

Against tyson however, quick decided he could use mike (who was geting a lot of exposure) as a springboard into bigger things but it did not quite pay off. he woke up and tried to pull a fast one.

After this he reverted back to his former role. eventualy he just couldnt keep them off him anymore but I think he earned well. good luk to him.

Often there are a lot of world class fighters and not enough b list belts to go around. tillis went for a belt, found his level then wisley decided to go on the road with his name ratherthan knock himself out failing as a contender.

 

Tillis was a good fighter and only beaten by the best, during his short prime. He had clear leads over Weaver, Thomas, Williams and Page before they all weathered the storm and beat him. His stamina cost him the big fights.

 

Great post.

 

One late Tillis fight is good to use as an instruction on what boxing is and what boxing is not. His opponent was a giant of a man built like Lou Ferrigno. His name escapes my memory but I'll never forget the guy's nickname: THE HUMAN DESTROYER.

Anyway, Tillis conducted a clinic and I think the Human Destroyer ended up on his face.

 

Well, Tillis was suppose to rebound after his '81 loss to Weaver, but then Tillis was waxed by Page in 1982 and later got iced by Spoon in one or two rds... By the time I was watching Tillis lollygag against Frazier in 1985, I knew he was a stroke boy merely staying in the game as a name seeking money...

People can say what they will about Jimmy Tillis, but he was merely a top-notch ESPN / USA network fighter; not truly HBO / Showtime material... NO!

MR.BILL:hat

 

i think he was a very solid fighter... very good jab, looks light good durability, and good hook too.

 

If he just applied himself, he could have beaten Mike Weaver.

Had Weaver hurt late in that fight, but just couldn't pull the trigger.
Good fighter, wasted talent.

Looked real good early in his career in 1980, KO'ing Eric Sedillo.

 

1 v. ExCellnt Fighter .
he did show heart , on multiple occasions .
his best preformance , must b going 1 distance w/ "MightyMike"
And even winning rounds .
Makes u wonder,
how mike wud handle other movers .

 

Good fighter, very good skills, I know he lost a lot of his bigger fights, but, still he was a skilled technician.

 

He knocked Page down in the second, but Page was winning that fight.