Henry Tillman

Henry Durand Tillman (born August 1, 1960) is an American former professional boxer. He won a gold medal at the 1984 Olympics as a Heavyweight. He scored notable wins over Cruiserweight Champions Uriah Grant and Tyrone Booze.

Early life Tillman was born in Los Angeles, California.

Amateur career Tillman twice defeated Mike Tyson as an amateur, winning both bouts via close decisions. Tillman went on to win heavyweight gold at the Los Angeles Olympics against highly touted Canadian boxer Willie DeWitt, considered the world's #1 amateur heavyweight by the AIBA in 1984 (to whom he lost in 1988 in professionals).

Highlights

United States National Championships (super heavyweight), Indianapolis, Indiana, December 1982: 1/16: Defeated Howard Lake by split decision, 3–2 1/8: Defeated William Ross RSC 2 1/4: Lost to Mark Mahone by majority decision, 1–4 USA–USSR Duals (super heavyweight), Indiana Convention Center, Indianapolis, Indiana, March 1983: Lost to Alexander Yagubkin (Soviet Union) by decision USA–Cuba Duals (heavyweight), Havana, Cuba, April 1983: Lost to Hermenegildo Báez (Cuba) by unanimous decision, 0–5 National Sports Festival (heavyweight), Olympic Training Center, Colorado Springs, Colorado, June 1983: 1/2: Defeated Henry Milligan RSC 2 Finals (Pan Am Trials): Defeated Richard Johnson by majority decision, 4–1 Pan Am Box-Offs (178 lbs), St. Louis, Missouri, August 1983: Defeated (no data available) Pan American Games (heavyweight), Caracas, Venezuela, August 1983: 1/2: Defeated Virgilio Frias (Dominicana) by majority decision, 4–1 Finals: Lost to Aurelio Toyo (Cuba) by majority decision, 1–4 USA–Bulgaria Duals (light heavyweight), Rapid City, South Dakota, October 1983: Lost to Deyan Kirilov (Bulgaria) by unanimous decision, 0–3

United States National Championships (heavyweight), Colorado Springs, Colorado, November 1983: 1/8: Lost to Henry Milligan by split decision, 2–3 USA–Combined Team of GBR & Canada Duals (heavyweight), Reno, Nevada, November 1983: Finals: Lost to Willie DeWitt (Canada) KO 1 National Golden Gloves (heavyweight), St. Louis, Missouri, April 1984: 1/4: Defeated Terry Anderson by decision 1/2: Lost to Jonathan Littles by walkover Olympic Trials (heavyweight), Tarrant County Convention Center, Fort Worth, Texas, June 1984: 1/4: Defeated Olian Alexander by majority decision, 4–1 1/2: Defeated James Pritchard by majority decision, 4–1 Finals: Defeated Mike Tyson by unanimous decision, 5–0 Olympic Box-Offs (heavyweight), Caesars Palace, Las Vegas, Nevada, July 1984: Defeated Mike Tyson by majority decision, 4–1 Olympic Games (heavyweight), Los Angeles, California, August 1984: 1/8: Defeated Kaliq Singh (India) RSCH 1 1/4: Defeated Tevita Taufo'ou (Tonga) RSCH 2 1/2: Defeated Angelo Musone (Italy) by unanimous decision, 5–0 Finals: Defeated Willie DeWitt (Canada) by unanimous decision, 5–0

Professional career

Tillman turned pro in 1984 as a cruiserweight and had a disappointing professional career, primarily due to a weak chin. In 1986, he was knocked down twice and upset by Bert Cooper via a decision. In 1987 he secured a bout at WBA Cruiserweight Title holder Evander Holyfield. Holyfield dropped Tillman three times en route to a 7th-round TKO, according to WBA rules. Tillman later lost to Willie DeWitt in a rematch of their 1984 Heavyweight Olympic Final bout. In 1990, he took on Mike Tyson in Tyson's comeback bout after his loss to James "Buster" Douglas. Tyson knocked him out in the first round. He finished his professional career with a record of 25-6-0 with 16 knockouts.

In the movie Rocky V, Tillman played contender "Tim Simms" who lost a bout to "Tommy Gunn" played by Tommy Morrison.

Personal life At the 1984 Summer Olympics Henry met his bride-to-be Gina Hemphill, a granddaughter of Jesse Owens, she carried the torch into the Los Angeles Coliseum at the opening ceremony, and worked as a production assistant on The Oprah Winfrey Show in Chicago. In 1987 they were married among friends and Olympic teammates.

Legal issues In February 2001, Tillman was sentenced to six years in prison for a 1996, attempted murder and voluntary manslaughter charge, and released from custody in 2002. In July 2004, Tillman was sentenced to 37 months in prison after pleading guilty to federal identity theft charges.

Professional boxing record 25 Wins (16 knockouts, 9 decisions), 6 Losses (4 knockouts, 2 decisions) Result OppRecord Opponent Type Round Date Location Notes Loss Terry Davis KO 7 1992-09-15 Fort Lauderdale, Florida, U.S. Win Eddie Taylor TKO 6 1992-04-21 Tampa, Florida, U.S. Win Mark Lee UD 10 1992-03-26 Irvine, California, U.S. Win Rick Kellar TKO 4 1990-11-29 Kalamazoo, Michigan, U.S. Win Lynwood Jones UD 10 1990-10-26 Daytona Beach, Florida, U.S. Win Danny Blake UD 10 1990-08-30 Daytona Beach, Florida, U.S. Loss Mike Tyson KO 1 1990-06-16 Las Vegas, Nevada, U.S. Win Tim Morrison TKO 2 1990-02-17 Edmonton, Alberta, Canada Win Gerardo Valero KO 2 1990-01-30 Reseda, California, U.S. Win Danny Wofford PTS 10 1989-12-09 Daytona Beach, Florida, U.S. Loss Willie DeWitt UD 10 1988-03-29 Edmonton, Alberta, Canada Loss Dwain Bonds TKO 8 1987-11-20 Las Vegas, Nevada, U.S. Win Danny Sutton KO 7 1987-08-22 Columbia, South Carolina, U.S. Win Kevin P. Porter UD 10 1987-07-11 Atlantic City, New Jersey, U.S. Win Woody Clark TKO 7 1987-06-07 Providence, Rhode Island, U.S. Loss Evander Holyfield TKO 7 1987-02-14 Reno, Nevada, U.S. Win Stanley Ross TKO 4 1986-12-26 Las Vegas, Nevada, U.S. Win Tyrone Booze UD 10 1986-10-17 Las Vegas, Nevada, U.S. Win Oscar Holman TKO 6 1986-09-24 Las Vegas, Nevada, U.S. Win Cedric Parsons KO 1 1986-08-19 Las Vegas, Nevada, U.S. Loss Bert Cooper UD 12 1986-06-15 Atlantic City, New Jersey, U.S. Win Bash Ali TKO 1 1986-04-22 Las Vegas, Nevada, U.S. Win Reggie Gross UD 10 1986-03-04 Atlantic City, New Jersey, U.S. Win Sylvester Lee TKO 1 1986-02-02 Hollywood, Florida, U.S. Win Richard Scott UD 6 1985-09-18 Atlantic City, New Jersey, U.S. Win Larry Phelps TKO 2 1985-08-11 Hollywood, California, U.S. Win Leroy Caldwell PTS 6 1985-06-30 Las Vegas, Nevada, U.S. Win John Williams TKO 1 1985-05-12 Tyler, Texas, U.S. Win Andre Crowder TKO 1 1985-04-18 Atlantic City, New Jersey, U.S. Win Mickey Pryor TKO 4 1985-03-05 Dallas, Texas, U.S. Win Uriah Grant TKO 2 1984-12-07 Houston, Texas, U.S.