James Tillis stopped 11 times.

It's all about styles...Tillis put up a very good fight w/ a good strategy...he still had no chance to pull off an upset, merely survive..You also misrepresent him or distort the info..tillis had been stopped 3 times prior to Tyson P. Thomas, Page & Spoon (no shame) it was not untill late 87 that Tillis began or continued his decline that he was already in when he faced Tyson...

Speculation...Tyson was under severe criticism and pressure by naysayers who claimed he could not go the distance or would look very sloppy in the attempt..I never got the impression that tyson was going all out, but rather to display that he did have boxing ability necesary to gain a pts win...not bad for a hater, huh?

 

Tyson developed quickly over the months thanks to fights like this, where he learnt a lot from an experienced pro. Remember Tyson had 27 fights in 20 months before fighting Berbick; 12 bouts alone in 1986 (excluding Berbick).

 

Simple, Tyson was 19 years old when he fought Tillis, while Tillis was 28 and had already faced some of the division's better fighters.

 

Tillis was in great shape and knew how to box Tyson.

Some fights Tillis obviously was out-of-shape, just there for the payday, and in some fights he was just plain old.

But in other fights he was just stopped by very good fighters.

Tyson wasn't actually invincible or an irrestible force that wins every second of every fight and knocks everyone out - as the media hype made him out to be - he could be extended and he could be beaten.

 

I dont think Tyson improved that much after fighting Tillis. I think he was almost the finished article at that point. He gained some experience but he'd been more or less polished with years in the gym with D'amato, Atlas and Rooney, sparring with good professionals etc. Tyson was a technically superb fighter even as a novice.

Tony Tucker went the distance with him later on, and Tucker was no better than an IN-SHAPE Tillis, IMO.

 

Probably because Tyson was still at a point where he had some more development, and because Tillis was a good boxer who gave a couple of fighters (i.e Carl Williams and Greg Page ) hell.

 

Tillis supposedly had some kind of allergic reactions to certain foods (Eggs?) and it made him fall short of his full potential at times.

Guess the Tyson fight was one where he had his **** together.

 

That's just how it goes some nights...some guy will seem durable as hell one night, the next he's suddenly stumbling about in the second round.

Tillis generally fought a smart fight against Tyson.

 

ThinBlack has a good point. Until Tyson fought Tillis, he was matched against opponents who had little movement which allowed Mike to punch away and eventually get the guy out of their. Tillis was a designed choice of a guy who had movement (perhaps thinking of Holmes) and who had not much in the way of a knockout punch. With all the movement by Tillis, Tyson couldn't set himself properly to land a clean hard shot as he had done so many times before. Tillis was also a wiley vet and knew that not only movement but a jab in Mike's face would keep him off balance just enough to keep Tyson from landing those solid shots.

 

Sometimes you just face a fighter who you can't knock out. Marciano, one of the best punchers, also went the distance with some guys who had been knocked out several times, if i remember correct.

 

Tyson was very young an in the developmental phases of his career. Although Tillis was never particularly gifted, he was a very experienced veteran and still only in his late 20's. Its not uncommon for a young prospect no matter how talented to be taken the distance by a seasoned fighter. Its probably not something that needs to be made a lot of.

 

I think we're getting a bit carried away with that statement. While nether man was ever paricularly impressive, Tucker was definately better than James Tillis even at his best. Tucker had better boxing ability, more strength, more size, and definately more durability and stamina than Tillis ever had. Neither of them had a terrbly long list of quality wins, but Tucker at least beat the likes of Douglas, Broad, Norris, and McCall, all of whom I'd give a fair chance of beating Tillis, while Quick only beat a shot Shavers.

 

Tillis and Page was an exciting affair with Page down early then putting Tillis away, going right hand crazy.

 

You can make the same criticism of ANY big puncher.

Joe Louis was unable to stop Tommy Farr in 15 rounds, despite him pressing the fight, being stopped by lesser fighters even journeymen several times, and weighing less than 200lbs.

It happens. You don't look at one fight, you look at a punchers entire body of work.

Let me ask you this; How many fighters did Tyson stop who had never been stopped before?

Or; How many ranked opponents did Tyson stop who had never been stopped before?

I don't know what the point you're trying to make is, but it's pretty clear Tyson was a devastating puncher, despite not stopping the negative James Tillis.