The Freeport News - Evander Holyfield has said that "absolutely, positively, under no circumstances will he fight "Tank" Williams, unless he's forced too.

That was an e-mail that was recently sent to Bahamian boxing pro, Sherman "The Tank" Williams from Evander Holyfield and his lawyers.

It appears that Holyfield is going back on what he said on the night the fight between he and Williams was declared a "no contest." Williams called out Holyfield on national television asking for a rematch. Back then, Holyfield said that he had no problems with that.

"But here it is now today, he sends an e-mail to say that he's totally against fighting me," said WIlliams.

"I guess he's sticking by what he said in the past when he said that he sees no reason in fighting me where he could get hurt, instead he prefers to go ahead and make money."

Williams said that he's not taking anything away from Holyfield, because he's been a legend and a warrior in the ring and has proven himself to the world on numerous occassions.

"But he was never shaken the way he was shaken when he fought 'Tank' Williams," said the Bahamian pro.

"He under-estimated me and he didn't realise that I had the power that I displayed in that fight with him."

And from the looks of things, Holyfield may be forced to fight Williams, whether he wants to or not.

While in Austria, where he was training, "Tank" said that he was contacted by the president of the World Boxing Federation (WBF) to tell him about their conclusion concerning the Holyfield drama.

According to the president, the WBF held a board meeting on March 12 and concluded that Williams would be the mandatory number one challenger, and will be fighting for the WBF International title and the WBF Heavyweight world Interim title.

This means that if "Tank" was to win his next fight, Holyfield would be forced into a mandatory fight with him.

Ironically, "Tank's" next match is set to take place in Nassau in July against the Brazilian Heavyweight champion, who also holds the WBF International Championship title.

Williams said that they are in talks now in putting the fight together and they are working in partnership with Bahamas Tourism to ensure that the fight is held in The Bahamas.

If he was to win this fight against the Brazilian, Holy-field will have 90 days in which to have a rematch with Williams or surrender the heavyweight title.

Asked how he felt about the decision, "Tank" said he feels good about the decision, simply because he's aware of he politics of the sport of boxing, and given the fact that Holyfield is a high profile fighter, he would no doubt be given the upper hand.

"You know, this is not about who can finish the race the fastest, but who can endure to the end," said Williams.

"I've come a long way and at this point I have nothing to lose, but everything to gain. By taking the fight with this Brazilian fighter, I feel that it means that I'm on my way back to collecting my WBF title, which I know is mine, because I won it from January 22 when I first fought Holyfield.

"Sometimes God has a way of turning things around and working it out better for us."

"Tank" just recently return-ed to Florida from a five-week training camp in Austria, where he trained with the Klitschko brothers. He said that camp only helped to propel him to the next level in terms of his conditioning.

"I went to the camp in shape, but there was a great benefit to the workout," said Williams.

"We did a lot of sparring and got a chance to talk a little business. Both brothers are interested in the idea of fighting in The Bahamas. After I am done with Holyfield and the WBF, perhaps I can use a match with one of them as a stepping-stone to enhance my career even further."

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