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Former two-time Heavyweight
Champion of the World Francois
“White Buffalo” Botha, 48-6-3
(29), will return to action
Saturday March 31 in
Noisy-le-Grand, France, taking
on hometown-hero Carlos Takam,
24-1 (19), for the vacant World
Boxing Federation International
title.
South African Botha lost his WBF
World title to Evander Holyfield
in 2010, but returned with a big
victory last year when he
stopped undefeated countryman
Flo Simba.
Last November he was ahead on
all scorecards when American
Michael Grant landed a big punch
to finish things in the final
round of their fight for the
world title vacated by Holyfield,
but Botha had showed up to that
point that he still has plenty
of skills and desire left at age
43.
A victory over Takam could pave
the way for a rematch with
Grant, but Botha has not by any
means chosen a safe road back by
agreeing to clash with the
Cameroon-born banger in France.
Twelve years younger, and with
the crowd more or less
exclusively cheering him on,
Takam will see this as his first
big opportunity to create a name
for himself.
At the same time, Botha will
without a doubt be his best
opponent to date, and a victory
would certainly bring his career
to new heights. Sharing a ring
with the likes of Lennox Lewis,
Wladimir Klitschko and Mike
Tyson, whom he was outboxing for
five rounds before getting
caught, gives Botha massive
experience which makes him
fearless of going to a
heavy-handed opponent’s backyard
for a fight.
Takam hit the scene with a
splash in 2005 when he defeated
a 6-0 opponent in his pro debut,
and won his next seventeen bouts
before suffering his first, and
so far only, setback against
another undefeated foe in
Gregory Tony. He has since
scored some good wins over
decent opponents such as Roman
Kracik, Levan Jomardashvili and
Gbenga Oloukun, but none of
those fighters really compare to
Botha.
The Carlos Takam vs. Francois
Botha WBF International
Heavyweight title fight is a
real crossroads encounter
between a veteran former
champion looking to get back on
track, and a younger talented
contender who is hungry to make
a mark. This fact is interesting
in itself, and the aggressive
fighting-styles of both men only
adds to the equation. |
