Tillman Gives Comeback a Lift With Knockout

Henry Tillman, the 1984 Olympic heavyweight champion whose pro career plummeted nearly as quickly as his amateur career had ascended, knocked out former Mexican heavyweight champion Gerardo Valero of Tijuana just 1 minute 7 seconds into the second round of a scheduled 10-round bout at the Country Club in Reseda on Tuesday night.

Tillman, who won the North American Boxing Federation championship in 1986 in just his 10th pro fight, lost to Bert Cooper later that year and then was crushed by former Olympic team roommate Evander Holyfield in 1987.

He later lost to Canadian Doug de Wit--the man he defeated in the Olympic final--and also lost to an unknown, Duane Bonds.

He stayed out of the ring for a year and a half before launching a comeback last December in Florida.

Against Valero, 32, who carried a flabby 234 pounds under a head of gray-streaked hair and who had not fought since November, 1988, Tillman, 214, was overpowering. He dropped Valero in the first round with a crushing right to the jaw and in the second round he staggered him with a flurry of punches before decking him with a whistling left hook.

Valero lurched to his feet at the count of nine, but referee Ernie Swanke stopped the fight.

“I felt sharp and I felt fast,” Tillman, 29, said. “I’m a much smarter fighter now than I was a few years ago, and I didn’t want to waste any time on this guy.

“Some guys need to be hit and knocked down to wake them up. I didn’t know if he was one of those guys. I knocked him down in the first with a short right hand and I knew he was hurt. In the second round I was going for the quick knockout, and I got it. My speed was much, much faster than his.”

Tillman, who lives just a few blocks from the Sports Arena in Los Angeles--the site of his greatest boxing triumph--is 19-4 with 13 knockouts. Valero is 24-8.