IRVINE BOXING : Tillman, 1984 Gold Medalist, Fights Lee Tonight

Henry Tillman, the 1984 Olympic heavyweight gold medalist, is featured tonight on the “Battle in the Ballroom” card at the Irvine Marriott.

Tillman takes on Mark Lee of Reno in a bout scheduled for 10 rounds. Tillman has a record of 23-5 with 15 knockouts. He’s coming off three consecutive victories, including a fourth-round knockout of Rick Kellar in late November. Tillman’s last loss was to former heavyweight champ Mike Tyson.

Tillman had defeated Tyson twice as an amateur, in the summer of 1984 and during the the Olympic trials. But when the two met as professionals in June, 1990, in Las Vegas, Tyson knocked Tillman out in 2 minutes 47 seconds of the first round. It was Tyson’s first fight since losing to Buster Douglas.

Tillman won two 10-round decisions and has beaten Kellar since. Lee has a record of 29-15 with 14 knockouts.

Mike Semaza, a featherweight from Orange, will try to keep his perfect record at the Marriott. He is 8-0 and will fight in the eight-round semi-main event against Vincente Gonzales of Bell. Gonzales has a record of 14-14.

There are 250 tickets left for the card, that includes four other scheduled bouts. Tickets go on sale at 9 a.m. today in the grand ballroom at the hotel.

The card last month at the Irvine Marriott, which featured the failed comeback of Danny (Little Red) Lopez, drew 1,540, the largest crowd in the eight-year history of the bouts at the hotel.