Carlton Elijah Tillery (born August 8, 1957) is an American former boxer in both the cruiserweight and heavyweight divisions, nicknamed "Phoenix Steel".
Tillery turned professional in 1980 and was a hard punching journeyman heavyweight during his career. He is best known for his two fights against Riddick Bowe in 1991. His first fight with Bowe is known for its bizarre conclusion. Bowe dominated the first round and dropped Tillery. After the round ended, Tillery walked toward Bowe and taunted him, and Bowe responded by punching Tillery. Tillery then landed several kicks on Bowe, and Bowe then unleashed a flurry of punches on Tillery as Tillery lay on the ropes. Bowe's trainer, Rock Newman, then grabbed Tillery and pulled him over the ropes as Bowe continued to throw punches. Tillery somersaulted over the ropes and was quickly detained by security.[1] After order was restored and the fighters returned to the ring, Tillery and Bowe continued a war of words, and there continued to be minor incidents as the ring was cleared. Tillery was disqualified for the kicks with Bowe getting the win, much to the surprise of the television announcers.
The fighters rematched two months later, with Bowe dominating and TKO'ing Tillery, his first TKO loss.
Tillery's next fight was his last, a TKO loss to James Smith two years after his loss to Bowe.
