Fields Lumbers To A 12 Round Decision Victory

03.09 - By Jason Gilmore: 6'9" Tye Fields (29-1, 27KO) proved too large a mountain for Sherman Williams (23-8, 13KO) to conquer Tuesday night, easily taking the USBA heavyweight champion by unanimous decision. Fields dominated Williams throughout the fight, using his 10-inch height advantage and a peppering right jab to keep the smaller fighter at bay throughout the 12-round bout.

Taking place on ESPN 2's Tuesday night fights, Williams and Steward had a heady card to fill, given the action that took place in earlier bouts. The crowd was treated to an opener involving former Chicagoland football standout Thomas Hayes' devastating knockout of formerly undefeated Chris Koval at 1:14 of the first round. Fighting in his first professional bout, David Maund was impressive despite the loss to seasoned amateur fighter Verquan Kimbrough. His performance was particularly laudable, given that his wife was hospitalized just a few hours before due to the birth to their first child (Congratulations, David). In the third bout, Ray Saunders made short work of Steve Fisher, dominating the fight until a stoppage at 1:41 of the second round due to a questionable cut above Fisher's left eye. As if this excitement wasn't enough, a sizzling women's bout between Leona Tanner (0-4) and Kara Ro (4-0) resulted in several jaw-jarring knockdowns at Tanner's expense, ultimately ending in a stoppage fifteen seconds into the second round. Interestingly, the fight was so lopsided that ESPN commentator Scott LeDoux called for West Virginia's boxing commission to revoke Tanner's license, apparently with the intention of ensuring that she would not be permanently injured in future fights.

Yet even the presence of legendary trainers Emanuel Steward (Fields) and Buddy McGirt (Williams) was not enough to maintain the excitement seen in the earlier fights. Fields was unable to capitalize upon his considerable physical advantages, going the distance rather than knocking out the outsized former champion. Despite working his way to a record for the second-most jabs thrown by a heavyweight, Williams remained unhurt throughout the fight. Williams was equally ineffective, unable to connect against the gigantic fighter, save for the occasional overhand right which seemingly left Fields unfazed.

Despite the fight's general lack of excitement (the crowd booed throughout), both fighters show promise. Fields' enormous stature and physical prowess are certainly assets, as are his improvements in skill since joining Manny Steward's camp. Williams' has long been a tough contender, a trait once again shown simply by his willingness to take on a boxer so much larger than he. Couple this with the fact that he's got one of the greatest trainers in the World in his corner, and we could see some interesting work from this already gifted boxer.