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Former WBF World Heavyweight
Champion Francois Botha has
expressed a desire to join the
World Boxing Federation in an
executive position once his
fighting career is over:
“I have a lot of contacts around
the world, and lots of people in
the business know me, so I
believe I would be a real asset
to the WBF once I am done in the
ring. But I still have a few
more fights left in me”, said
the 48-7-3 (29) South African.
In his last outing Botha lost in
a bid for the WBF International
title to Carlos Takam in France.
Takam (25-1, 20 KOs), born in
Cameroon but based in France
throughout his entire
professional career, recently
received his WBF belt at a
ceremony in hometown
Noisy-le-Grand.
The 31-year-old, who represented
his native country in the 2004
Athens Olympics, is currently
awaiting confirmation on his
next fight.
Another Heavyweight hoping to
fight again soon is WBF
Intercontinental champion Amir
Mansour (16-0, 12 KOs ).
Mansour, who’s original name is
Lavern Moorer, was sentenced to
14 months in prison last
December after violating
probation conditions, but is
reportedly due for an early
release in the near future, and
will be looking to defend his
WBF title as soon as possible.
The 39-year-old from Wilmington,
Delaware will not find it hard
to make a comeback, as his last
fight was on December 2
where he stopped Columbian
Epifanio Mendoza to win the WBF
title. If he is able to return
this fall his absence from the
ring will have been less than a
year, or around ten times
shorter than his previous break.
Mansour re-started his career in
August 2010 after serving eight
years in prison on a drug
conviction, but quickly turned
heads in the sport with some
highlight reel knockouts and a
reputation as one of the most
exiting boxers in his division.
It now remains to be seen if he
can pick things up where he left
them.
Also facing a “Comeback”, WBF
Women’s World Super
Featherweight Champion Ramona
Kuehne (19-1, 6 KOs) recently
underwent surgery in Straubing,
Germany for a torn ligament in
her left knee suffered doing
sports outside of boxing.
A planned title defense in July
is now postponed indefinitely,
but the operation went well and
it is expected that Kuehne will
recover without further
problems:
“Dr. Heinz-Jürgen Eichhorn did a
perfect job, and I must send a
heartfelt thank you to him and
the team at the clinic. I now
hope that I can get back to
training in a few weeks”, said
the 32-year-old from Berlin.
Kuehne won the WBF World title
in June 2010, and has since made
three successful defenses. She
last fought in January where she
stopped Hungarian challenger
Renata Domsodi in eight rounds.
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