The Tribune

By BRENT STUBBS

Senior Sports Reporter

bstubbs@tribunemedia.net

Sherman 'The Tank' Williams hasn't fought since his controversial 'no contest' bout with 'The Real Deal' Evander Holyfield a year ago. But manager Si Stern said his bout against Chauncy 'The Hillyard Hammer' Welliver next month will be a much bigger challenge.

"It's clearly one of the biggest fights that Sherman has ever had, as far as what it can do for him at this stage in his career," Stern said. "He's fighting in China, which is a long way away, but he's fighting for two WBO belts.

"If he can win the two of those belts, it will propel him into the top 10 in the WBO as a heavyweight, which will be a tremendous boost for him for some very decent fights against some of the European guys who control that group."

On Saturday (June 28) in Macau, China, Williams is scheduled to take on Welliver in the 12-round main event bout for the World Boxing Organisation's Asia Pacific and WBO Oriental International championship belts.

The winner will be guaranteed a No.5 spot in the WBO's heavyweight division. Welliver is currently ranked at No.8 in the standings.

While Stern said they were hoping that the Holyfield bout in West Virginia on January 22, 2011, would have pushed Williams' career even further, it actually stagnated it to the point where he is only now getting back into the ring.

"He's getting up there in age and he's starting to realise that this is the opportunity for him," Stern said. "He has stayed in shape and although he hasn't fought in a while, he realises that you can't be choosey at this point.

"You have to grab these fights, be in the best shape of your life and go out and give a good account of yourself so that you will have something to look forward to over the next few years."

Williams, who turns 30 on September 1, said when they got the call from the WBO last Thursday, they jumped at the idea of travelling all the way to China to compete for the titles.

"With an opportunity like that, although I knew nothing about Chancy Welliver, when they called me, I accepted the fight," Williams said. "To be honest, last week Thursday was the first time that I ever heard his name. All I know is that he's a heavyweight fighting between New Zealand and China. He's a resident of New Zealand and he has the Chinese heavyweight title."

At 6-feet, 2-inches and a southpaw fighter, Welliver poses some challenge for the 5-11 Williams, who hails from Grand Bahama but is currently fighting out of Vero Beach, Florida, with his wife, Michelle.

While Welliver has been a journeyman, having had a total of 63 fights with 53 wins, five losses and as many drawn, Williams comes in with a 34-11-2 record in 48 fights. Welliver has a slim 20-19 edge over Williams in knockouts, but they both have been knocked out once.

"From what I see, he has that typical record where he was fed a lot of bums in his career, like they were building up as the 'Great White Hope.' He was fighting guys that were 0-7 all the way to his 20-something fight," Williams said. "That's all I know about Chancy Welliver and with that information alone, that gives me more confidence in myself and in my game plan. I think he's tailor-made for me. He has more fights than I have, but he has never fought the calibre of fighters that I have. So I think I'm a bit out of his league."

Williams said his goal is to win the two titles and then secure a fight before the year is out against Wladimir Klitschko of Ukraine for the WBO world title fight.

Even though he hasn't fought since he faced Holyfield, Williams said he was in Russia for six weeks during October and November where the fight was rebroadcast and that was where the Chinese got to view him in action.

"Although I got screwed in the Holyfield situation, I'm still glad to God that things are turning around for me and I am reaping some of the benefits that I should have received from fighting Holyfield," he said.

"It wasn't by design by me or my manager to not get into the ring for the Holyfield fight. After the fight, Holyfield had agreed to fight me in the Bahamas and we were looking at either Our Lucaya or Nassau Wyndham, but it took us from March to August trying to work out the logistics and it just didn't get finalised by the Ministry of Tourism."

Williams said he's looking forward to making the trek to China where he will finally get his breakthrough to set himself up for a possible world title shot.