Carlton Elijah Tillery (born August 8, 1957) is an American former professional

boxer Boxer most commonly refers to: *Boxer (boxing), a competitor in the sport of boxing * Boxer (dog), a breed of dog Boxer or boxers may also refer to: Animal kingdom * Boxer crab * Boxer shrimp, a small group of decapod crustaceans * Boxer snipe ee ...

who competed in the cruiserweight and

heavyweight Heavyweight is a weight class in combat sports and professional wrestling. Boxing Professional Male boxers who weigh over are considered heavyweights by 2 of the 4 major professional boxing organizations: the International Boxing Federation an ...

divisions. He was nicknamed "Phoenix Steel".

Amateur career

Born in

Albany, New York Albany ( ) is the List of capitals in the United States, capital city of the U.S. state of New York (state), New York. It is located on the west bank of the Hudson River, about south of its confluence with the Mohawk River. Albany is the oldes ...

, Tillery compiled an amateur record of 45 wins and 2 losses.

Professional career

Tillery turned professional in 1980 and was known as a hard-punching journeyman in the heavyweight division. He is best known for his two fights against

Riddick Bowe Riddick Lamont Bowe (born August 10, 1967) is an American former professional boxer and professional kickboxer who competed between 1989 and 2008 in boxing, and from 2013 to 2016 in kickboxing (Muay Thai). He held the undisputed world heavyweig ...

in 1991. His first bout with Bowe is known for its bizarre conclusion. Bowe dominated the first round and dropped Tillery. After the round ended, Tillery walked toward Bowe and taunted him, and Bowe responded by punching Tillery. Tillery responded by kicking Bowe, after which Bowe unleashed a flurry of punches while Tillery was against the ropes. Bowe's trainer, Rock Newman, then pulled Tillery over the ropes as Bowe continued to throw punches. Tillery somersaulted over the ropes and was quickly detained by security.BOXING; Bowe Gets the Boot, but Wins - New York Times
/ref> After the order was restored and the fighters returned to the ring, Tillery and Bowe continued a war of words, and there continued to be minor incidents as the ring was cleared. Tillery was disqualified for the kicks with Bowe getting the win, much to the surprise of the television announcers. The fighters rematched two months later, with Bowe dominating and TKO'ing Tillery, his first TKO loss. Tillery's final professional bout was a TKO loss to James Smith two years after his rematch with Bowe.

Professional boxing record

, - , align="center" colspan=8, 23 Wins (15 knockouts, 8 decisions), 7 Losses (2 knockouts, 5 decisions

, - , align="center" style="border-style: none none solid solid; background: #e3e3e3", Result , align="center" style="border-style: none none solid solid; background: #e3e3e3", Record , align="center" style="border-style: none none solid solid; background: #e3e3e3", Opponent , align="center" style="border-style: none none solid solid; background: #e3e3e3", Type , align="center" style="border-style: none none solid solid; background: #e3e3e3", Round , align="center" style="border-style: none none solid solid; background: #e3e3e3", Date , align="center" style="border-style: none none solid solid; background: #e3e3e3", Location , align="center" style="border-style: none none solid solid; background: #e3e3e3", Notes , -align=center , Loss , , align=left, James Smith , TKO , 6 , 14/09/1993 , align=left, Atlantic City, New Jersey, U.S. , align=left, , - , Loss , , align=left,

, TKO , 4 , James Toney vs. Mike McCallum, Dec 13, 1991 , align=left, Atlantic City, New Jersey, U.S. , align=left, , - , Loss , , align=left,

, DQ , 1 , 29/10/1991 , align=left,

Washington, D.C. Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly known as Washington or D.C., is the capital city and federal district of the United States. The city is on the Potomac River, across from Virginia, and shares land borders with ...

, U.S. , align=left, , - , Loss , , align=left, Art Tucker , UD , 10 , 02/11/1990 , align=left, Albany, New York, U.S. , align=left, , - , Win , , align=left, William Morris , MD , 10 , 17/08/1990 , align=left,

Newark, New Jersey Newark ( , ) is the List of municipalities in New Jersey, most populous City (New Jersey), city in the U.S. state of New Jersey, the county seat of Essex County, New Jersey, Essex County, and a principal city of the New York metropolitan area. ...

, U.S. , align=left, , - , Win , , align=left, Fred Whitaker , RTD , 4 , 08/07/1990 , align=left, Atlantic City, New Jersey, U.S. , align=left, , - , Win , , align=left, Mike Dixon , UD , 6 , 08/05/1990 , align=left, Atlantic City, New Jersey, U.S. , align=left, , - , Win , , align=left, Dorcey Gaymon , UD , 8 , Jun 15, 1987 , align=left, Atlantic City, New Jersey, U.S. , align=left, , - , Win , , align=left, Mike Cohen , KO , 3 , 23/08/1986 , align=left,

Fayetteville, North Carolina Fayetteville ( , ) is a city in and the county seat of Cumberland County, North Carolina, United States. It is best known as the home of Fort Bragg, a major U.S. Army installation northwest of the city. Fayetteville has received the All-Ameri ...

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David Jaco David Lee Jaco (born January 24, 1954Steven Ponall (June 22, 2003). "The Fights of His Life". ''The Bradenton Herald'' (Database: NewsBank Retrieved January 26, 2014).) is a retired heavyweight boxer. He spent his career as a journeyman, fighting ...

, KO , 9 , 11/07/1986 , align=left,

Swan Lake, New York Swan Lake (formerly Stevensville) is a hamlet and census designated place in the town of Liberty, Sullivan County, New York, United States. The lake inside the town is also named Swan Lake. A hotel and tourist industry was founded in Swan Lake i ...

, U.S. , align=left, , - , Win , , align=left, Wesley Smith , TKO , 8 , 31/05/1986 , align=left,

, U.S. , align=left, , - , Win , , align=left, Rodney Frazier , KO , 4 , 05/04/1986 , align=left, Latham, New York, U.S. , align=left, , - , Loss , , align=left, Anthony Davis , UD , 12 , 19/09/1984 , align=left,

Winchester, Nevada Winchester is an unincorporated town and census-designated place (CDP) in Clark County, Nevada, United States that contains part of the Las Vegas Strip. It is one of a number of CDPs in the unincorporated urbanized area directly south of Las ...

, U.S. , align=left, , - , Win , , align=left, William Hosea , PTS , 10 , 09/08/1983 , align=left, Atlantic City, New Jersey, U.S. , align=left, , - , Win , , align=left, Louis Alexander , KO , 1 , 15/04/1983 , align=left, New York City, New York, U.S. , align=left, , - , Win , , align=left, Charles Vanderhall , KO , 2 , 10/11/1982 , align=left,

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Alfonzo Ratliff Alfonso Ratliff (born February 18, 1956) is an American former professional boxer who competed from 1980 to 1989, holding the WBC and ''The Ring'' cruiserweight titles in 1985. He was later coaching at the Harvey Boxing Club in Harvey IL. Amate ...

, UD , 10 , 13/03/1982 , align=left, Atlantic City, New Jersey, U.S. , align=left, , - , Win , , align=left, Henry Patterson , TKO , 3 , 11/02/1982 , align=left,

Philadelphia, Pennsylvania Philadelphia ( ), colloquially referred to as Philly, is the List of municipalities in Pennsylvania, most populous city in the U.S. state of Pennsylvania and the List of United States cities by population, sixth-most populous city in the Unit ...

, U.S. , align=left, , - , Loss , , align=left, Quadir Muntaqim , UD , 8 , 07/11/1981 , align=left, Atlantic City, New Jersey, U.S. , align=left, , - , Win , , align=left, Eddie Smith , PTS , 8 , 24/07/1981 , align=left, New York City, New York, U.S. , align=left, , - , Win , , align=left, Kid Samson , PTS , 8 , 25/06/1981 , align=left,

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, U.S. , align=left, , - , Win , , align=left, Fred Brown , UD , 6 , 11/05/1981 , align=left, New York City, New York, U.S. , align=left, , - , Win , , align=left, Milton Hopkins , KO , 1 , 18/03/1981 , align=left, White Plains, New York, U.S. , align=left, , - , Win , , align=left, Johnny Pitts , KO , 2 , 08/03/1981 , align=left, Atlantic City, New Jersey, U.S. , align=left, , - , Win , , align=left, Vincent Johnson , KO , 1 , 28/02/1981 , align=left, Atlantic City, New Jersey, U.S. , align=left, , - , Win , , align=left, Calvin Langston , KO , 1 , 18/02/1981 , align=left,

White Plains, New York White Plains is a city in and the county seat of Westchester County, New York, United States. It is an inner suburb of New York City, and a commercial hub of Westchester County, a densely populated suburban county that is home to about one milli ...

, U.S. , align=left, , - , Win , , align=left, Kid Samson , PTS , 4 , 07/02/1981 , align=left,

Atlantic City, New Jersey Atlantic City, sometimes referred to by its initials A.C., is a Jersey Shore seaside resort city (New Jersey), city in Atlantic County, New Jersey, Atlantic County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey. Atlantic City comprises the second half of ...

, U.S. , align=left, , - , Win , , align=left, Kasim Stephenson , KO , 1 , 07/01/1981 , align=left, New York City, New York, U.S. , align=left, , - , Win , , align=left, Austin Johnson , KO , 1 , 12/12/1980 , align=left, New York City, New York, U.S. , align=left, , - , Win , , align=left, Gerald Hardy , KO , 1 , 23/10/1980 , align=left,

New York City New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...

New York New York most commonly refers to: * New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States * New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York New York may also refer to: Places United Kingdom * ...

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the The refereeThe refereeReferences

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Tillery, Elijah 1957 births African-American boxers Heavyweight boxers Living people Sportspeople from Staten Island American male boxers Boxers from New York City 21st-century African-American sportsmen 20th-century African-American sportsmen