The Man That Made Evander Holyfield Quit: Sherman “Tank” Williams Speaks to RSR
Exclusive Interview by Marc Anthony
“Holyfield needs to get with it and stand behind his word. He calls himself a warrior. Warriors come out and fight.”- Sherman Williams
Sherman Williams, 34-11-2, 19 KO’s, Florida resident and Bohemian born fighter, has paid his dues to the sport and has requested Evander Holyfield to honor his word and give him his rematch. Sherman’s first professional debut was in 1997, in Las Vegas, against Renard Jones. Thirty seven fights later, he went on to win the WBC Caribbean heavyweight title by unanimous decision against Willie Perryman in 2006. Four fights later, against Ralph West he captures the WBF intercontinental heavyweight title by stopping him in the 3rd round on January of 2006.
In January, Sherman Williams stepped in the ring in his biggest fight to date against Evander Holyfield. On his way to stopping Evander and earning him a big win and possible chance at more big fights the referee ruled it a no contest and effectively took Williams’s moment away. Williams being the competitor and fight that is inside of him is now on a campaign in setting that moment straight.
RSR catches up with Sherman “The Tank” Williams to get his thoughts on the “Real Deal.”
MA: When you fought Holyfield, it appeared that you had him close to being stopped. Do you feel that he quit because he knew he was going to lose?
Yeah, absolutely, I saw that he quit. It was imminent that he was going to be knocked out. He wasn’t going make it past the fourth round if the fight continued. If you look at, especially in the last minute of the last round, I had him severely hurt. The cut was not from an accidental head-butt. The cut actually came from one of those short Jersey Joe Walcott overhead rights that I hit him with. He couldn’t adjust to that punch. He style is counter aggressive, so I bait him in and when he come in I just threw that overhand right and it caught him every time
If you look at the tape of that fight, his corner coerced him into saying he could not see. There was hardly any blood there but he was just thinking about that overhand right.
MA: Do you think that Holyfield got a pass and that any other fighter would have lost via TKO for not coming out of their corner?
Yeah, absolutely. No disrespect to the referee, but prior to that fight I don’t know what other championship belts he refereed for. Clearly he was confused in giving the fighter and option. In the corner of the 3rd round he said, clearly you have it on tape, that he had an option of going out and losing by a TKO or staying in the corner and he could rule it a no-contest draw. And there is no such thing as a no-contest draw. That was the first thing that the ref said that I found very suspicious. And the corner, rather than trying to apply the solution to stop the bleeding, if there was any bleeding, they were actually trying to make the cut bleed. And they said to him to “just tell him you could not see.”
Tommy Brooks and his assistant actually coerced him in telling him he could not see. And the referee didn’t do the right job, If you cannot answer the bell, that’s a TKO automatically, but being the clever champion that Holyfield is/was during his career he took the back door easy way out to save face and to go on and have that fight with Brian Nielsen.
I also find it suspicious that if he had a cut that was as bad as a boxer he was never put on suspension. There is a medical suspension that normally a fighter goes on if the cut was that bad.
MA: Holyfield just beat Nielsen, a fighter 9 years on the shelf. Do you think that he has drastically stepped down the level of competition because he knows he cannot compete with the top fighters anymore?
No, no, not at all. I don’t want this to be misunderstood and take away my credit to what I did to Holyfield. John David Jackson is an excellent trainer and we spent quite a long time looking at footage of Holyfield. We looked at the François Botha fight and he has a lot left in his tank. Here is a guy who came on and stopped Francois Botha in the 8th round in a fight that was about eight months before we fought. There is no doubt in my mind that the guy has a lot left in the tank. He is a clever fighter but January 22nd I just had his number and we had an excellent game plan. We knew that once we stuck to the game plan that we would handle Holyfield.
I was hitting him also with a lot of short body shots on the inside. In one instance, I recall hitting him with a body shot in the third round and he went all the way across the ring. I was just the stronger fighter that night. I was the better fighter that night. I think I was better prepared and I think they overlooked me and underestimated my ability because I was out of the ring for fourteen months. I think their assumption is that it was going to be a quick tune up.
MA: Are you angry that Holyfield cost you your biggest victory and best opportunity to get a big shot in the sport?
Yes and no. I was disappointed in the way it unfolded. Clearly, it was my moment to shine and because of an incompetent referee and the officials in the ringside didn’t take the right steps. I am not just a fighter, I am a student of the game, and the way the rules work is quite simple. If there was an accidental head butt, the referee should have in the middle of the second round called a halt and tell the judges it was an accidental head clash. He never did. The first time we heard about the clash of heads was after he stopped the fight already and I think that was against the rules as well.
MA: What would change about a rematch with Holyfield? Couldn’t he just do the same thing again and get another No contest out of it? Isn’t the deck stacked too much in his favor?
No, I think that in a different setting with an experienced referee that knows the ABC rules and the unified rules of boxing I definitely think my chances are great going in against Holyfield in winning a decision or possibly winning by knockout KO. Styles make fights. When he fought Mike Tyson he used the same tactics. From the beginning of the bout in the first round he comes at me with his head. Holyfield is about six foot two and I am five eleven. His forehead collided on me before his right or left did. So he is a clever and crafty fight and he knows how to use his head and get away with it and unfortunately because of that ref he was able to get away with it in that fight.
MA: Evander says he wants to fight a Klitschko. Do you think that is a death wish? What would a fight look like with Holyfield and a Klitschko?
I could answer it in a couple of ways. I am a heavyweight and I paid my dues already to the sport and I have been waiting on a break like a lot of good heavyweights that unfortunately have been railroaded. This notion that there are no good heavyweights left in America and this is the reason way the Europeans have been shinning. I think that is a bit incorrect. You have good heavyweights, a lot of the good fighters were either side stepped or just pushed aside because of the styles. Styles make fights. Unfortunately, this is a division where a lot of times people were able to hand pick there fights.
As far as the Klitschko’s go…if he says he is being considered to fight Klitschko, Wladimir Klitschko, Vitali Klitschko or David Haye? My stance is simple: Before he could move on and be considered a serious challenger again he needs to correct that spot on his record with the no contest. Everybody who saw that fight knew that he was on his way to getting stopped.
I would love to see a situation before he gets that shot that he has to take a rematch with me. And, if it isn’t possible I think I should be regarded as well as a challenger for either Klitschko’s or David Haye.
MA: Any Final Message?
Yeah, I just want, like everybody else that better decisions are being made in boxing and that a lot of other fighters get a fair shake and not with the same old song and dance. I did my part and I did that interview after the fight in the ring and I said it clear.
Listen, we have to do this again and maybe in my backyard. Let’s to a rematch and he said that he had no problems in giving me a rematch. I want to hold Holyfield to his word and not let this guy slip through the cracks and get another world title shot. I think it will be a travesty and totally unfair to fighters like myself. When he accepted the rematch challenge, my whole country in the Bahamas was watching the whole fight on pay per view and that drummed up a lot of curiosity and a lot of support and I think that Bahamas is ready able and willing to host the rematch. So, Holyfield needs to get with it and stand behind his word. He calls himself a warrior. Warriors come out and fight.
Sherman Williams
Nickname: “The Tank”
Division: Heavyweight
Professional Record: 39-11-2, 19 KO’s
2011-01-22 Evander Holyfield White Sulphur Springs, West Virginia NC NC 3 12
Fight stopped due to Holyfield’s left eye being cut as a result of an accidental clash of heads in the second round
2009-10-10 Manuel Charr Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, Germany L UD 10 10
2008-12-12 Andrew Greeley Jacksonville, Florida W UD 6 6
2007-04-18 Wade Lewis Nassau, Bahamas W KO 1 10
2007-01-19 Ralph West Olive Branch, Mississippi W KO 3 12
Vacant World Boxing Foundation Intercontinental heavyweight title
NBA Heavyweight Title
2006-08-04 Josh Gutcher Las Vegas, Nevada W TKO 1 12
WBC Caribbean Boxing Federation (CABOFE) heavyweight title
NBA Heavyweight Title
2006-05-05 Earl Ladson Tampa, Florida W UD 6 6
2006-03-31 David Washington Tampa, Florida W KO 3 12
NBA Heavyweight Title
2006-02-24 Dennis McKinney Dover, Delaware W UD 4 4
2005-12-10 Willie Perryman Uncasville, Connecticut W UD 10 10
WBC Caribbean Boxing Federation (CABOFE) heavyweight title
2005-10-15 Harold Sconiers Kissimmee, Florida W UD 6 6
2005-03-26 Ruslan Chagaev Sachsen, Germany L UD 8 8
2004-11-18 Gilbert Martinez San Jose, California D PTS 10 10
2004-06-12 Leon Turner Nassau, Bahamas W TKO 5 6
2004-03-06 Kelvin Hale Verona, New York L SD 8 8
2003-12-06 Miguel Otero Nassau, Bahamas W TKO 4 12
2003-09-02 Tye Fields Chester, West Virginia L UD 12 12
2003-07-03 Lenzie Morgan Chester, West Virginia W UD 6 6
2003-03-01 Gabe Brown Las Vegas, Nevada W UD 10 10
2002-12-06 Garing Lane Saint Petersburg, Florida W UD 6 6
2002-10-20 Taurus Sykes Tacoma, Washington L UD 10 10
2002-04-21 Samson Po’uha Laughlin, Nevada W MD 10 10
2002-01-26 Alfred Cole New York, New York W UD 10 10
2001-05-20 Obed Sullivan Elizabeth, Indiana L SD 12 12
2000-11-02 Cisse Salif Bethlehem, Pennsylvania W UD 6 6
2000-06-29 Jameel McCline New York, New York D PTS 10 1
2000-04-08 Crawford Dennary Nassau, Bahamas W KO 1 10
2000-03-31 Ron Guerrero New York, New York W UD 10 10
1999-11-18 Derrick Banks Coachella, California L PTS 10 10
1999-10-29 Tommy Martin Montreal, Quebec L UD 10 10
1999-09-11 Charles Cue Nassau, Bahamas W KO 1 10
1999-08-05 Frank Wood Tunica, Mississippi W TKO 2 8
1999-05-20 Robert Davis Tunica, Mississippi L TKO 5 8
1999-03-25 Andrew Staley Saint Petersburg, Florida W PTS 6 6
1999-02-24 Miguel Otero Miami, Florida W UD 6 6
1999-01-30 Isaac Poole Miami, Florida W TKO 1 4
1998-12-05 Ronald Lewis Miami, Florida W TKO 1 6
1998-11-13 Willie Driver Tampa, Florida W KO 1 4
1998-10-03 Floyd Womack Miami, Florida W TKO 2 4
1998-09-15 Harry Daniels Punta Gorda, Florida W TKO 2 4
1998-08-08 Derrick Edwards Miami, Florida W UD 4 4
1998-06-27 Robert Williams Miami, Florida W KO 1 4
1998-05-09 Sean Rickards Miami, Florida W TKO 1 4
1998-04-11 Vale Payton Miami, Florida W TKO 1 4
1998-03-28 Tracy Williams Homestead, Florida W KO 1 4
1997-11-26 Renard Jones Las Vegas, Nevada L UD 6 6
1997-07-30 Alex Desir Las Vegas, Nevada W TKO 2 6
1997-06-24 Renard Jones Las Vegas, Nevada L MD 4 4