Tillman Wins NABF Crown in First Round
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LAS VEGAS — Olympic gold medalist Henry Tillman stopped top-ranked Bashiru Ali at 1:25 of the first round Tuesday night to win the North American Boxing Federation cruiserweight championship.
Tillman, who ran his record to 10-0 with seven knockouts as a pro, knocked Ali down twice in the first round. Ali went down the first time in the opening seconds of the scheduled 12-round bout from a left to the head and never recovered from the blow.
After the first knockdown, Tillman scored with several combinations to the head, forcing referee Joey Curtis to give Ali a standing eight-count. Tillman, of Los Angeles, continued pounding the stunned Ali until he dropped him to one knee, and the bout ended under the three-knockdown rule.
The 25-year-old Tillman, who won the gold medal at 201 pounds in the 1984 Olympics, outweighed Ali by 192 to 186 pounds and at 6 feet 3 inches was four inches taller than the stocky Nigerian.
Ali, rated No. 1 by the World Boxing Council and World Boxing Assn., fell to 27-10 with 13 knockouts.
Tillman’s manager, Donald Zuckerman, said Tillman’s next fight is expected to be against DeLeon for the WBC title.
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