Frank Bruno proved to be an unstoppable force as he dismantled and battered James Tillis in a savage beatdown.Bruno retired from the professional scene with a record of 40-5.Bruno only had two losses on his record as he prepared to fight Tillis, who had 11The British boxing icon had true dynamite in his gloves, with 38 of his 40 conquered opponents not seeing the final bell.But one of his most iconic, and bloody, stoppage wins came when he shared the ring with Tillis.The pair faced off on March 24 1987, as Tillis’ former foe, Mike Tyson, watched on from his ringside seat with a keen eye on proceedings.With a potential title shot with Tyson on the line, both men were out to prove they were the one who deserved it.Tillis had already been opposite ‘Iron Mike’ a year prior, and beating Bruno would have given him a chance to settle the score.He was the first man to take Tyson the distance, but lost their clash via unanimous decision.Ultimately, it was Bruno who cemented his right to the title shot with Tyson down the line.After leaving Tillis bloodied and unable to push beyond the fifth round, Bruno returned to winning ways.What happened when they fought?Bruno had to be aware of Tillis’ sharp defence early on, which gave him so much success in taming Tyson previously.But unfortunately he wasn’t at the peak of his lightning powers, and was an easy target for Bruno on the night.ShutterstockBruno battered Tillis, with Tyson watching on as he did his level best to put his name in the thoughts of Tyson[/caption]The fifth round was ultimately the turning point as Bruno bloodied the nose of Tillis and it gave him trouble, as he began dabbing at his nose with his glove.And midway through the stanza, a crushing shot through the guard followed by a swift uppercut sent the American staggering towards the ropes.Bruno was unable to land the big final punch, but his opponent was hurt and a series of clipping shots were met with no response by Tillis.The referee stepped in with Tillis raising his hand in submission, and the partisan British crowd saluted their hero who was back in the winning column.Tillis’ white shorts were left splattered with blood and he took some real facial damage, with his last chance at reaching the big time was emphatically over.Who is James ‘Quick’ Tillis?After turning pro in 1978, Tillis had a lot of early success and won his first 20 fights and was notorious for his excellent display against Tyson.GettyTillis shared the ring with Tyson at his peak, but never quite made it to the big time[/caption]But after losing to Bruno one year later, he became more of a journeyman and was far away from launching his own push for world silverware.Despite being an impressive technician, it ultimately didn’t convert into sustained success.But he was able to finish career with an impressive resume, having shared the ring with a whole host of greats including Evander Holyfield who he was later beaten by in 1988.Tillis retired in 2001 with his best years beyond him, and although not reaching the heights of his opposition, was a true warrior.What did this win mean for Frank Bruno?The Brit came into his clash with Tillis after losing his world title fight against Tim Witherspoon in July 1986.By beating a respected veteran like Tillis in such as bloody display, Bruno was able to come back to winning ways and spark a new surge towards a world title shot. Bruno followed up the victory on a brief European tour taking victories over Chuck Gardner and Reggie Gross.And in his biggest step towards a world title shot, Bruno took on and stopped Joe Bugner in an iconic duel to round off a successful year, which then in turn, set up his inevitable clash with Tyson.What did Bruno go on to do after defeating Tillis?Two years after beating Tillis, Bruno then got his wish and shared the ring with heavyweight legend Tyson for the WBA, WBC and IBF titles.The bout faced significant delays due to issues with Tyson’s personal life, but he eventually got his shot under the bright lights of Las Vegas.But ultimately it changed little, as their clash ended in a similar fashion to when Bruno and Tillis fought, although this time not in the Briton’s favour.It wasn’t until 1995 that Bruno finally won a world title fight, when he defeated Oliver McCall for the WBC heavyweight title.Bruno felt the full force of Tyson during his career in their two clashesGettyIn 1995, Bruno finally broke though and beat Oliver McCall to become WBC champion before losing it to Tyson in his first defenceGettyAs he claimed his first world title, his status as a British boxing legend was cemented.Despite his reign being short-lived, as Tyson defeated Bruno a second time to claim his strap in 1996.