Photo provided by Henry Milligan
IT’S A KNOCKOUT! Milligan deals Felix “Cat Man” Shorter his first loss—a TKO in the second round—on August 1, 1985, at Resorts International in Atlantic City.
“He ignited the amateur ranks, and I did very well in the professional ranks,” Tiberi recalls. “It was fun because Henry and I were coming up at the same time.” Milligan’s amateur boxing career came to a halt with the loss to Tyson. His only consolation: Tyson would end up losing in the finals of the Olympic trials to Henry Tillman, the opponent Milligan defeated on his quest for the amateur heavyweight title eight months earlier. “Henry met a Mike Tyson who was hungry,” says Tiberi. “Young Mike Tyson was a rock. [Yet] Henry was winning the fight before getting caught with that punch. If it had gone the distance, Henry probably would have gotten the decision.” In 1985, Milligan was still eager to box. So as many amateurs boxers his age would inevitably do, he made the decision to go pro. At the old Brandywine Club in Chadds Ford, in his first sanctioned fight, Milligan knocked out a fighter named Garland Hall in the first round. Over the course of 13 years—including two retirements—Milligan compiled a 17-3 record that included 14 additional knockouts. “I find it hard to believe pound-for-pound that anyone ever hit harder than Henry did,” says John Riley, who was a member of Milligan’s management team, Pro Management, Inc., formed in 1986. “As the skinny body on the other end of the punching bag, it was shocking to me to feel that thrust when he hit a bag.” Milligan also possessed a rare fearlessness. Riley remembers going with Milligan to bouts in Atlantic City and sparring sessions in Philadelphia and wondering why anyone would “risk life and limb” the way he did. “At lot of times in those Philly gyms, he was going against guys who were 50 pounds heavier than him,” Riley says. “I mean, it was a sight to behold. Somehow or other he would just come across the ring and go at it.” Milligan’s decision to go into boxing was no big surprise to his younger brother, Michael. Henry’s gifts were evident at an early age. “He was incredibly smart as a young man,” Michael says. “Straight-A student. He was also an unbelievable athlete. He had a physique when he was five years old.” Michael, who today lives with his family in the Philadelphia area, recalls that he and Henry tied rags around their fists and boxed in the basement of their first home in East Brunswick, N. J. When the family moved to Hockessin in 1972, their father bought the boys 16-oz. boxing gloves. ►
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