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One of my good friends is a man
by the name of Francois “White
Buffalo” Botha. A huge man with
a big heart and former WBF world
champion, Francois has been in
with the best. Personally I
have been in many adventures
with Botha and enjoyed each and
every one of them.
One can rattle off Botha’s
former opponents like Tyson,
Moorer, Holyfield, Lewis and
Klitschko to mention but a
few. So when Rodney Berman, one
of the top promoters worldwide,
decided on his outstanding
undefeated 20-year old
heavyweight sensation Flo Simba
fighting Botha, I warned Rodney
about the danger of Flo fighting
a man with a great deal of
experience.
Simba, unbeaten before his fight
against the 42-year-old Botha,
is indeed an incredible talent,
possibly a future world
champion. But the night against
the tough, cagey and ringwise
Botha was simply not Simba’s
night, and in a hard encounter
with both fighters showing
class, Botha emerged victorious
courtesy of a sixth round
knockout.
One can never take away or
underestimate experience and
fight savvy. Botha for certain
has exactly that. Add to that
fact Botha remains as
charismatic as ever, and while
the reflexes might not be what
they were a decade ago, his
right hand remains a deadly
weapon. Botha, as always, showed
true diginity after the fight
praising Simba as a future
superstar and that the loss was
not a serious setback but
possibly a learning experience
that would keep Simba in good
stead for future fights to come.
I spoke to Francois on the phone
the day after the fight and
asked him about Simba and
whether he was at all hurt in
the fight. Expecting an “Are you
crazy?” kind of answer, Botha
surprised by saying that Simba
had hit him with a big right on
the ear, which had upset his
balance and that Simba could
certainly punch.
Again, experience is a major
advantage, but an advantage
until what age? When does age
supersede experience? A rematch
between the age defying
48-year-old Evander Holyfield
versus a motivated and properly
trained 42-year-old Francois
Botha? Could a rematch actually
occur? What would the result be?
Interesting questions watched
carefully by a future star in
the making – Flo Simba!
Until next time, keep boxing.
Howard Goldberg
PRESIDENT: World Boxing
Federation
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