Carlton Elijah Tillery (born 1957-08-08 in Staten Island, NY) is a former American
boxerBoxing is a combat sport where two participants, generally of similar weight, fight each other with their fists. Boxing is supervised by a referee and is typically engaged in during a series of one to three-minute intervals called rounds. There are three ways to win...
in the
heavyweightHeavyweight is a division, or weight class, in boxing. Fighters who weigh over 200 pounds are considered heavyweights by the major professional boxing organizations: the International Boxing Organization, the World Boxing Association, the World Boxing Council, and the World Boxing...
division, nicknamed "Phoenix Steel".
Tillery turned professional in 1980 and was a hard punching journeyman heavyweight during his career. He is best known for his two fights against
Riddick BoweRiddick Lamont Bowe is an American boxer and former undisputed heavyweight champion. He is best remembered for his trilogy of fights with Evander Holyfield and two brutal bouts with Andrew Golota...
in 1991. His first fight with Bowe is known for its bizarre conclusion. Bowe dominated the first round and dropped Tillery.
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Carlton Elijah Tillery (born 1957-08-08 in Staten Island, NY) is a former American
boxerBoxing is a combat sport where two participants, generally of similar weight, fight each other with their fists. Boxing is supervised by a referee and is typically engaged in during a series of one to three-minute intervals called rounds. There are three ways to win...
in the
heavyweightHeavyweight is a division, or weight class, in boxing. Fighters who weigh over 200 pounds are considered heavyweights by the major professional boxing organizations: the International Boxing Organization, the World Boxing Association, the World Boxing Council, and the World Boxing...
division, nicknamed "Phoenix Steel".
Pro career
Tillery turned professional in 1980 and was a hard punching journeyman heavyweight during his career. He is best known for his two fights against
Riddick BoweRiddick Lamont Bowe is an American boxer and former undisputed heavyweight champion. He is best remembered for his trilogy of fights with Evander Holyfield and two brutal bouts with Andrew Golota...
in 1991. His first fight 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 then landed several kicks on Bowe, and Bowe then unleashed a flurry of punches on Tillery as Tillery lay on the ropes. Bowe's trainer, Rock Newman, then grabbed Tillery and pulled him over the ropes as Bowe continued to throw punches. Tillery somersaulted over the ropes and was quickly detained by security. After 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 fracas 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 next fight was his last, a TKO loss to
James Smith-Sports figures:*James Smith , American boxer, nicknamed "Bonecrusher"*Jim Smith , English football player and manager*James Smith , soccer player...
two years after his loss to Bowe.
Troubles Outside the Ring
Tillery was sentenced to nine years in prison in March 2008 for hiding a sawed-off shotgun in a toy alligator in the back of his pickup truck. Before sentencing, Tillery read a 12-page statement about his life and cursed his attorney and the prosecutor.