The Tribune

By RENALDO DORSETT

Sports Reporter

rdorsett@tribunemedia.net

IT WAS a less than desirable result in the return to the ring for Bahamian heavyweight Sherman “The Tank” Williams in his first fight of 2015.

Williams lost via unanimous decision to Romanian Christian Hammer in the main event at the Patinoar Dunarea in Galati, Romania, on Friday night.

Hammer, 27, improved to 18-4 with 10 KOs while Williams, 42, fell to 37-15-2 with 20 KOs, following the 10-round bout.

The three judges scored it 98-92, 98-92 and 100-90 in favour of Hammer  who rebounded from a TKO loss to Tyson Fury back in February with the World Boxing Organisation (WBO) International heavyweight title on the line.

For Williams, it was his first fight in eight months since he defeated Manuel Banquez via a first round knockout last December.

In the co-feature, unbeaten heavyweight Adrian Granat (8-0, 7 KOs) stopped “The Sandman” Konstantin Airich (21-13-2, 17 KOs) in round three.

Despite the loss, Williams previously told The Tribune that he has major plans in line for professional boxing in the Bahamas for the remainder of the year.

“I have some great aspirations for 2015. On the short list is pulling off a professional bout in Grand Bahama. I’ve been working with the Tourism Board in Grand Bahama as well as several rugby matches that I hope to bring to Grand Bahama as well. The bout against Banquez was a kick off for great things to come because professional boxing is looking great for the future in our country,” he said.

Williams, who is about 5’11” with a 76- inch reach, is proud to carry the Bahamian flag. He has built up a strong fan base in Asia and previously held the PABA heavyweight and the WBO Oriental Heavyweight titles.

Williams has lost three of his last six fights.

Prior to the win over Banquez on home soil at the Kendal Isaacs Gymnasium, Williams was upended by another unanimous decision when he lost a 10-round bout to Joseph Parker last October.

At The Trusts Stadium in Auckland, New Zealand, two judges scored it 100-90 and the other had it 97-94 as Parker stayed undefeated to retain his World Boxing Association (WBA) PABA and World Boxing Organisation (WBO) Oriental titles.

In 2013, he split a pair of bouts with a win over Earl Ladson and a loss to Glen Washington.

In June, at the Home Depot Center in Carson, California, Washington remained undefeated and won a unanimous decision victory over Williams. All three judges scored the bout 79-72 in favour of Washington.

He rebounded in November with a unanimous decision win over Earl Ladson at the Ritz in Raleigh, North Carolina.

A journeyman fighter, Williams said the politics of professional boxing has made it increasingly difficult to fight in scheduled bouts.

Even at age 42, Williams remains vigilant and will continue to work toward a major title shot.

“I’ve been in the gym because I’ve had about four other fights that I was preparing for, but they didn’t materialise. This is the problem in the heavyweight division. A lot of the heavyweights who are signed up with the big promoters cherry pick and hand pick who they want to fight. I had a fight in February and three others after that, but none of the opponents wanted to commit,” he said in a previous interview with The Tribune.

“It’s like going through a maze. A lot of times it’s not about being number one or being the best, it’s about being chosen. That’s the way boxing has been going. The guys at the top get to cherry pick their fights and these guys get away with doing things. There is no unified commission that sanctions fighters to fight. The politics of boxing just lends itself to this. You just have to stay the course.”

Williams’ biggest name on his dossier was none other than Evander Holyfield who he fought to a no-contest in 2011.