Vintage Boxing Poster Evander Holyfield vs James "Quick" Tillis1988 Illustrated

Description

Here is an artistic, vividly colored, illustrated boxing poster from a historic fight between
Evander Holyfield and James "Quick" Tillis that took place at Caesars Tahoe on July 16, 1988. The poster is in very good plus condition:
Measures: 38” x 20”
Vivid colors
Autographed (possibly by artist, but cannot confirm identity)
One small tear (1/4” at top)
Two small discolored areas on back: one 2” x 1”, red and black ink; one 3” x ½”, yellow
Tiny inner punch/tear: 1/8”, on back, does not penetrate to front
Some minor wear at edge
Will be shipped carefully rolled and placed inside a sturdy cardboard tube, which in turn will be placed inside a triangular USPS shipping box.
The fight
After becoming the undisputed cruiserweight champion, Holyfield moved up to heavyweight in 1988.
Before the fight, Holyfield said he would not return to the cruiserweight division, even if he lost to Tillis. He relinquished his cruiserweight titles after defeating Pinklon Thomas in December 1988.
Holyfield didn’t knock Tillis down, but slowed him with body punches, shook him several times with blows to the head, and Tillis was on the verge of going down when the bell ended the fifth round.
With Tillis sitting on his stool with head bowed, referee Richard Steele summoned Dr. Elian Ghanem to the corner. But Beau Wiliford, Tillis' manager had already decided his fighter had enough, so Steele stopped it.
At the time of the stoppage, two judges had Holyfield ahead 50-45 and the other judge had Holyfield in front 49-46.
This was Holyfield's seventh consecutive knockout win. He would go on to extend the streak to thirteen.
Holyfield called his victory over Tillis "the biggest step in my career."
Over the next year, Evander Holyfield defeated a lineup of the usual heavyweight suspects, creating a public clamor for a megabucks meeting with champion Mike Tyson.
Holyfield and Tyson fought in 1996 (Holyfield won by a TKO in 11) and in a rematch in 1997 (Holyfield won by disqualification in 3, after Tyson bit both of his ears).