Thinkin Big: The Story of James "Quick" Tillis, the Fighting Cowboy

Rating:
Summary: FASCINATING
Review: It seems the only boxers who release books are the really big names so its refreshing to read one from a man who didn't get all the breaks. Thinkin Big is a book that tells the story of how James Tillis came from the poverty and achieved a lot, and kept going long after the promoters, trainers and "friends" had broken him down and taken every last cent they could get from his hard work.

Tillis is suprisingly good humoured about his disheatening story, and this book is written in Tillis's country "twang" and slang and will often have you laughing out loud. Tillis is a very funny man but he can also make you feel the pain of his frequent low points. I recommend it to anyone who has an interest in the heavyweight division, you will even appreciate it if Quick Tillis was a bit before your time.

As for the career, Tillis fought Mike Weaver for the WBA portion of the world title in 1981. He started off very well, showed his incredible natural skill and looked certain to win, but tired badly and wound up losing a 15 round SPLIT decision.

Years later Tillis would find out the reason for his sudden stamina problems late in fights were down to a series of severe allergies to things like milk, eggs and all the other things a boxer would pack himself full of leading up to a fight. THIS is why his career took a turn for the worse because he DIDNT YET KNOW!!

He did comeback the next year to beat the most lethal punching fighter of all time in Earnie Shavers, but then hit a losing run, dropping from exhaustion to future worldchamps Pinklon Thomas and Greg Page, and gettin knockedout in one round by another world champ in Tim Witherspoon.

But in 1986 Tillis finally discovered all his allergies in a trip to the doctors, and instantly changed his diet. The effects were there to see right before your eyes in his next fight, against none other than MIKE TYSON! Well i wont go any further but Quick taught mikey a thing or two.

The story of how Tillis's trainer "Willy B", or Beau Williford as he is really known, steals massive amounts of money from an ageing Tillis is frustrating, and the stories of how he repeatedly tries to cripple his own fighters chances of winning by dirty tactics, greed and dealings with Tillis's opponents managers is quite harrowing. These are the reasons Tillis never fulfilled his unlimited potential.

but his book is great! best wishes to you mr tillis!

Rating:
Summary: Big lies, No Ties
Review: James "Quick" Tillis portrays himself as the victim but the true victims are mentioned in the book. I read how he portrayed his wives, oh so many wives and he lied quite a bit. To add to this credit I met two of them of which happen to be very intelligent and successful women with lovely daughters. As I read this account I feel sorry for the fact that he cannot account his story accurately. I saw his fights and also watched him train. He was not an outstanding fighter because he continued to make excuses of which is evident in his book. Big lies about his fight and no ties to his children what a sad ending to a man with a very sad life and history. Muhammad Ali portrayal..I think not....Only a washed up fighter desperate to make a living any way that he can!!

Rating:
Summary: This book is historically inaccurate.
Review: This book is historically inaccurate. James "Quick" Tillis portrays himself in this book as a great fighter who would have been heavyweight champion if he hadn't been the victim of bad luck and bad decisions by judges. The reality is that Tillis was a mediocre heavyweight boxer who lost every big fight in his career.

Here are the facts: Tillis won 42 fights and lost 22 fights in his career. This record may seem respectable, but it is less impressive when you consider that Tillis had a record of only 17 wins and 21 losses against fighters who had winning records. (More than 25 of Tillis' fights were against men who had losing records or were fighting for the first time.)

During his career, Tillis fought 12 men who were ranked in the top ten. Tillis lost 11 of these fights and won only one. Tillis' only victory against a top ten fighter was a decision he was "given" over Earnie Shavers in June 1982 when Shavers, at age 37, was well past the prime of his career. Shavers scored the only knockdown in this fight, but the judges somehow gave the decision to Tillis. The 11 top-ranked fighters who defeated Tillis were Mike Weaver, Pinklon Thomas, Greg Page, Tim Witherspoon, Carl Williams, Gerrie Coetzee, Mike Tyson, Joe Bugner, Frank Bruno, Evander Holyfield, and Gary Mason. Six of these men knocked Tillis out. The rest won by decision. Tillis discusses several of these fights in his book and, predictably, he claims that each decision against him was unfair -- since he believes he really won these fights. Ha! This sob story gets a little tiresome after the third or fourth time.

I was particularly amused by Tillis' account of his fight against WBA Heavyweight Champion Mike "Hercules" Weaver in October 1981. Although Weaver won this fight by a clear decision, Tillis claims in the book that he won 11 of the 15 rounds. I remember seeing this fight on TV and my recollection is that Weaver dominated the fight and that Tillis spent most of the fight backpedaling away from Weaver. If you want verification, please see the October 12, 1981 issue of Sports Illustrated, which ridiculed Tillis for "retreating" throughout the fight and for "hugging" Weaver in the final rounds due to exhaustion.

I offer this information to demonstrate that Tillis was a journeyman fighter who built up a mediocre record at the expense of unranked fighters. He does NOT deserve to be portrayed as someone who might have been the next Muhammad Ali if only he had enjoyed better luck. Anyone who is sincerely interested in the history of boxing should disregard this book.