Williams puts 'El Matador' on the mat

By SHELDON LONGLEY

NG Sports Reporter

All of Grand Bahama and the entire Bahamas should still be celebrating this morning as Sherman 'Tank' Williams made history Saturday night.

The 5'11", 236 pound Grand Bahamian became the fifth Bahamian to win an international title in the sport of Boxing, and he did it in the most impressive of fashions.

Williams (25-8-1, 14 KO's) recorded a fourth round knockout of Miguel 'El Matador' Ortero to win the newly created WBA Fede Caribe Heavyweight title Saturday night at the Kendal G.L. Isaacs National Gymnasium. In doing so, he joined Bahamian greats Elisha Obed, Ray Minus Jr., Freeman Barr and Steve 'The Heat' Larrimore as the only Bahamians to win international titles.

"I feel pretty good. I was waiting for this for a long time and the hard work finally paid off," said Williams after the fight. "From I turned pro, I was looking forward to fighting a big, significant fight in Nassau and here it is. I didn't expect things to go this easy. I love the fact that all these people decided to turn out. I was hoping for a bit more but we'll settle for what we got."

Not only did Williams floor Miguel 'El Matador' Ortero, but with a left/right combination at the 1:07 mark of the fourth round, he knocked him squarely between the ring ropes and out of the ring where the Puerto Rican fell awkwardly and landed on his head. Ortero's corner rushed to his side in an attempt to brace his fall but the damage had already been done and Ortero lied motionless on the floor of the gym for 20 minutes.

"I noticed from the second round that the guy was using dirty tactics by trying to use his head. I was just trying to set him up for the jab and wait for that correct opportunity," Williams said.

"I was trying to dig him with a lot of body shots. He was breathing heavily and I knew it was just a matter of time before I would catch him. I caught him sleeping on the ropes and that was all she wrote. I hope that the guy is alright and I wish him all the best but I expected to cut this guy down within 12 rounds," he added.

Still, after coming to his feet, Ortero ripped off a neck brace that was provided and proclaimed that he wasn't hurt at all by the impact of Williams' blows.

"I'm still in one piece," said Ortero through an interpreter. "I was taking it round by round because I wanted to continue fighting until the 12th round. He didn't hurt me. I want to fight him again, I want a rematch."

Williams, who was the aggressor throughout, seemed to picking his points of attack in the match before connecting for a powerful left/right combination in the fourth round.

The fight was so one-sided whereas a few fans felt that Williams was actually trying to prolong the match in order to give them their money's worth. His knockout of Ortero in the main event climaxed a night in which four of the five bouts were stopped short.

Williams trainer, American Kerry Russell said that the fight was a brawl and he is just happy that his guy came out on top.

"I'm just elated that he trained hard for the fight and he pulled it off," Russell said.

"It is going to bring a lot of recognition to the islands and hopefully we could get bigger fights down here in the future. It was an alley fight but my man prevailed. It could have been worse but he won the fight."

As he normally is, Williams came out aggressive in the first round as he took the fight to Ortero. Only five solid blows connected in the first round and all five came off the gloves of Williams. He staggered Ortero a few times in the opening round but the tough Puerto Rican kept hanging in and was actually begging for more.

Williams aggressiveness tailed off a bit in the second round but he remained in control of the fight. As the fight continued, Ortero who appeared to be saving his strength for the later rounds, kept inviting Williams in. Williams took advantage and finally got the knockout he sought for in the fourth round.

Unlike many of his opponents, Ortero - who was a last minute replacement for Gary 'The Bull' Winmon - stood around the same size as Williams and that was right up Williams alley.

Williams dominated the fight from the onset and clearly had the power advantage as the impact of his blows could be heard throughout the gym.

Williams trips to the inside and his onslaught to the body of Ortero finally paid off in the fourth round. He caught Ortero with a vicious body shot and then finished him off with a powerful left hook. Ortero's momentum carried him straight out of the ring and caused him to land awkwardly.

"Once or twice he kind of pushed me off balance but he didn't hurt me at all in the fight," Williams said.

"Look at my face, it's soaking but I'm sure it is still pretty. The soak feels good so hey, I'm good," he added.

Williams, who improved to 3-0 with three KO's at home, said that he never had a doubt that he would win the fight and was just focussed on giving the Bahamian people a treat. Saturday night was his third championship fight in his professional career but the only one he had at home.

"From here, I just hope to take a couple of weeks off and hopefully within two weeks, the WBA will have me somewhere in the top 12," Williams said.

"Boxing is full of politics and poli-tricks. The one thing I never had that most of the other guys abroad got was a home base. I had over 30 fights and this is only my third fight in Nassau. I hope that this is the beginning of a lot of things happening with a home base and I just hope for the best in the new year," he added.

Caption: UNDISPUTED CHAMPION - Sherman 'Tank' Williams holds his arms high after winning the newly created WBA Fede Caribe Heavyweight title Saturday night at the Kendal G.L. Isaacs National gymnasium. 'Tank' won via a fourth round knockout of Miguel 'El Matador' Ortero. Staff Photo by Donald Knowles

Posted: Monday December 8 , 2003