Tillman twice defeated Mike Tyson as an amateur, winning both bouts via close decisions. Tillman went on to win heavyweight gold at the Los Angeles Olympics against highly touted Canadian boxer
Willie DeWitt, considered the world's #1 amateur heavyweight by the AIBA in 1984 (to whom he lost in 1988 in professionals.)
Highlights United States National Championships (super heavyweight),
Indianapolis, Indiana, December 1982: • 1/16: Defeated Howard Lake by split decision, 3–2 • 1/8: Defeated William Ross RSC 2 • 1/4: Lost to Mark Mahone by majority decision, 1–4 USA–USSR Duals (super heavyweight),
Indiana Convention Center,
Indianapolis, Indiana, March 1983: • Lost to
Alexander Yagubkin (Soviet Union) by decision USA–Cuba Duals (heavyweight),
Havana, Cuba, April 1983: • Lost to Hermenegildo Báez (Cuba) by unanimous decision, 0–5
National Sports Festival (heavyweight),
Olympic Training Center,
Colorado Springs, Colorado, June 1983: • 1/2: Defeated
Henry Milligan RSC 2 • Finals (Pan Am Trials): Defeated Richard Johnson by majority decision, 4–1 Pan Am Box-Offs (178 lbs),
St. Louis, Missouri, August 1983: • Defeated (no data available)
Pan American Games (heavyweight),
Caracas, Venezuela, August 1983: • 1/2: Defeated
Virgilio Frias (Dominicana) by majority decision, 4–1 • Finals: Lost to Aurelio Toyo (Cuba) by majority decision, 1–4 USA–Bulgaria Duals (light heavyweight),
Rapid City, South Dakota, October 1983: • Lost to
Deyan Kirilov (Bulgaria) by unanimous decision, 0–3
United States National Championships (heavyweight),
Colorado Springs, Colorado, November 1983: • 1/8: Lost to
Henry Milligan by split decision, 2–3 USA–Combined Team of GBR & Canada Duals (heavyweight),
Reno, Nevada, November 1983: • Finals: Lost to
Willie DeWitt (Canada) KO 1
National Golden Gloves (heavyweight),
St. Louis, Missouri, April 1984: • 1/4: Defeated Terry Anderson by decision • 1/2: Lost to Jonathan Littles by walkover Olympic Trials (heavyweight),
Tarrant County Convention Center,
Fort Worth, Texas, June 1984: • 1/4: Defeated Olian Alexander by majority decision, 4–1 • 1/2: Defeated
James Pritchard by majority decision, 4–1 • Finals: Defeated
Mike Tyson by unanimous decision, 5–0 Olympic Box-Offs (heavyweight),
Caesars Palace,
Las Vegas, Nevada, July 1984: • Defeated
Mike Tyson by majority decision, 4–1
Olympic Games (heavyweight),
Los Angeles, California, August 1984: • 1/8: Defeated
Kaliq Singh (India) RSCH 1 • 1/4: Defeated
Tevita Taufo'ou (Tonga) RSCH 2 • 1/2: Defeated
Angelo Musone (Italy) by unanimous decision, 5–0 • Finals: Defeated
Willie DeWitt (Canada) by unanimous decision, 5–0 ==Professional career==