Holyfield Moves Up, Mows Down Tillis in 5

Evander Holyfield moved up to the heavyweight division Saturday night at Caesars Tahoe and demonstrated an ability to land punches all night long to both head and body--singly or in crackling combinations.

And he also demonstrated that, for now at least, Mike Tyson has nothing to worry about.

Holyfield, undisputed cruiserweight champion, inflicted a savage beating upon veteran trial horse James (Quick) Tillis until Tillis’ corner stopped it between the fifth and sixth rounds.

Holyfield’s first heavyweight fight was of some interest, since Tillis is one of four men to go the distance against Tyson. On May 3, 1986, Tillis fought 10 rounds with a still-learning, 19-year-old Tyson, losing by decision.

Obvious question: How do Tyson and Holyfield match up, Quick?

“He’s a little faster than Tyson,” the battered Tillis said afterward. “If he fights like that against Tyson, and uses his legs, he’ll take that gorilla.”

This wasn’t a pretty sight. Not as pretty as the setting, anyway. There were 5,000 shirt-sleeved spectators in a sold-out outdoor stadium, watching a fist fight against a backdrop of green, pine-covered mountains and a fading blue sky.

When it ended, they were watching a slaughter under Sierra stars.

Holyfield, who came in at 202 pounds to Tillis’ 210, went to work immediately on his 19th consecutive victory, or every fight since he was thrown out of the Los Angeles Olympic Games for hitting an opponent on the break. Tillis is 38-14-1.

In the first minute, Holyfield found the range with his thumping left jab, then began delivering hooks to the body off the jab. He won the round easily.

In the second, Holyfield began bouncing rights and lefts off Tillis’ head at center ring, then hammered Tillis to the body with both hands.

In the last minute of the second round, Holyfield was close to 100% accuracy with head shots. This is a guy who doesn’t miss often.

But some still question the velocity of Holyfield’s punches. When he decisioned Carlos DeLeon in April to take the undisputed cruiserweight championship, he hit DeLeon on the noggin hundreds of times, yet never knocked him down.

The pattern was repeated Saturday night. Tillis was rocked and battered from ringpost to ringpost, but never went down. In fact, Holyfield didn’t buckle Tillis’ knees until late in the the fifth round, when he caught Tillis on the ropes with his hands down, and planted a pulverizing right hand flush in the face.

Tillis weathered the storm and collapsed on his stool at the bell. His trainer, Beau Williford, looked in Tillis’ eyes and summoned referee Richard Steele, who summoned the ring doctor, who stopped it.

Afterward, Holyfield’s promoter, Dan Duva, said: “Evander isn’t ready for Mike Tyson yet, but he will be and when he is, we expect Mike Tyson will still be there waiting for us. We’re looking for a Tyson fight around June ’89.”

In a championship undercard 12-rounder, Frankie Warren of Corpus Christi, Tex., kept his United States Boxing Assn. junior welterweight championship with a unanimous decision over Clarence Coleman of Newark, N.J. All three judges scored it 116-112.