James"Quick"Tillis vrs Earnie Shavers(1982)

[Brutu]

All ten rounds of the Tillis-Shavers fight.This was the preliminary to the Holmes-Cooney fight in Las Vegas NV.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cVUrDd9MrrA

[Goodnight, Irene]

Twelve years is a long time.

[Brutu]

Looks like Quick Tillis almost did the "Funny man dance" at the end of round two.

[Robinson]

Thanks for this. I have only watched some rounds from this fight.
Ill watc the whole fight later.

[Nile4000]

And they are still friends to this day.Cool.

[dempseyfire]

This was the fight that derailed Shavers' "mini-comeback' in the early 80s when he put together a string of wins including victories over Jeff Sims and Joe Bugner. It really looked like Tillis was done for in the 9th round but credit to him he got his senses back and got the W.

Shavers more than any fighter I can remember had incredible one punch power that could change a fight in a second, even in his old age. Just freakish punching power.

Anyone know anything about his loss a few months after this to the mediorce Walter Santemore? Was he injured? I've never understood that fight on his record, even with a past-it Shavers.

[Brutu]

As far as I know the Tillis-Shavers fight was the last National exposure Shavers had,
even though he fought for a couple more years afterward.
Shavers had fought Joe Bugner on HBO a couple of months earlier.

[Brutu]

According to the newspaper article Walter Santamore went to Shavers body early and by the fifth round Shavers was visibly tired.
Santamore dominated the last three rounds.
Just before the bell rang to end the ninth round,Santamore hit Shavers with an overhand right and Shavers went to his corner wobbly.
(Gerry Cooney was in Santamore's corner).

[overhand_right]

Santamore was a bag of tricks, crafty fun fighter, I can see him being a problem for a ageing Shavers. Shavers-Tillis was a good fight, big balls on display by Quick too!