James Tillis
American boxer
詹姆士·提爾斯 · ジェームス・ティリス
- Born
- 5 July 1957, Tulsa
- Citizenship
- United States
- Sport
- boxing
- Discipline
- heavyweight
- Occupation
- boxer
James Tillis (born July 5, 1957) is an American former professional boxer and actor. Known as "Quick", he was famous for his remarkable fast hand speed for a man of his size and build. A natural southpaw, Tillis changed to orthodox midway in his amateur career. His left remained the stronger hand and for that reason, he had a powerful jab and left hook, together with the ability to switch stances while fighting. Tillis challenged for the WBA world heavyweight title in 1981, but was defeated in a fifteen-round unanimous decision fight against Mike Weaver. Tillis was the first man to go the distance with Mike Tyson in 1986, breaking his knockout-streak and giving him a close fight, nearly a draw, with two of three judges scoring the fight 6-to-4. (in the words of Hall of Fame's Gil Clancy, Tillis was "one punch" away from victory.) He holds notable wins over Ron Stander by TKO in the 7th round in 1980, and the hard punching Earnie Shavers by ten-round decision in 1982.
External links
Facts from Wikidata Q331059 (CC0); quoted introduction from English Wikipedia (CC BY-SA 4.0). Data retrieved 2026-10-22.
Data: Wikidata (CC0 1.0); Wikipedia (English) (CC BY-SA 4.0). Retrieved 2026-10-22.