Francois Botha

Frans Botha
Frans Botha
Born	Francois Botha; September 28, 1968 (age 58); Witbank, South Africa
Occupation(s)	Professional boxer, kickboxer, mixed martial artist
Years active	1990–2014 (boxing), 2003–2006 (kickboxing), 2004 (MMA)
Known for	IBF heavyweight championship (1995), competing against Mike Tyson, Lennox Lewis, Michael Moorer, Evander Holyfield

Francois "Frans" Botha (born 28 September 1968) is a retired South African professional boxer and kickboxer. His boxing career spanned from 1990 until 2014, during which he notably secured the IBF heavyweight championship by defeating Axel Schulz in 1995, although he was later stripped of the title following a failed drug test. Botha made two attempts to claim world heavyweight titles in 2000 and 2002 and went up against former Heavyweight Champions such as Mike Tyson, Lennox Lewis, Michael Moorer, and Evander Holyfield toward the end of their careers. Additionally, he competed once in mixed martial arts in 2004.

Early career

In 1995, Botha captured the IBF heavyweight Championship by overcoming Germany's Axel Schulz, but subsequently tested positive for the steroid nandrolone. Botha and his team maintained that the substance was prescribed for treating an arm injury. As a result, the fight's outcome was overturned to a "No Contest," and the IBF does not officially acknowledge him as champion.

In 1996, known as "The White Buffalo," Botha challenged Michael Moorer for the IBF title on the undercard of Mike Tyson's initial bout against Evander Holyfield, ultimately losing via TKO in the twelfth round. This defeat was followed by a match against Mike Tyson on 16 January 1999, then bouts with Shannon Briggs, and heavyweight title challenges against both Lennox Lewis and Wladimir Klitschko, all concluding with knockout defeats.

Four months post-fight with Klitschko, Botha faced contender Clifford Etienne, managing to knock him down twice but settling for a majority draw; two judges scored it 94–94 while one favored Botha at 95–93, with the fight taking place in Etienne’s hometown.

Comeback

Botha made his return to boxing in July 2007, achieving a unanimous decision win over Bob Mirovic in South Africa. He dominated the contest with two judges awarding him all twelve rounds and one judge giving him ten out of twelve. This match was contested for the interim WBF World Heavyweight title.

On 6 February 2009, Botha secured the vacant WBF heavyweight championship by unanimous decision against Ron "Rocky" Guerrero in South Africa. He then successfully defended this title on 15 May 2009 in Germany, narrowly defeating Timo Hoffmann via split decision.

Originally slated to face Joey Abell on 27 March 2010 at Uganda’s Nelson Mandela Memorial Stadium after a postponement from 16 January, Botha saw the WBF World Heavyweight Title vacated on 10 January by the World Boxing Foundation due to his failure to defend it within the agreed period.

On 10 April 2010, Botha suffered an eighth-round knockout loss to Evander Holyfield at Las Vegas’s Thomas and Mack Center. With this victory, Holyfield claimed the WBF heavyweight championship.

Subsequently, Botha defeated former unbeaten South African prospect Flo Simba. He then challenged Michael Grant for the vacant WBF heavyweight belt; despite leading on points for most of the fight, he was knocked out by Grant in the final seconds. Two bouts later, Botha lost a ten-round points decision to undefeated contender Francesco Pianeta.

Botha was scheduled to fight New Zealand dual-sport athlete Sonny Bill Williams in Brisbane on 24 November 2012; however, this event was postponed until February. When the match finally took place, it lasted only ten of the planned twelve rounds. Judges awarded Williams a victory on points. Despite media speculation regarding drug testing and officiating concerns, the WBA upheld the fight’s validity and recognized Williams as International heavyweight champion.

Kickboxing and mixed martial arts career

Between 2003 and 2006, Botha competed in the kickboxing organization K-1, amassing a record of 4 wins and 11 losses. Among his victories were impressive wins against renowned fighters Jérôme Le Banner and Peter Aerts. His last appearance in K-1 was on 20 May 2006 in Stockholm, Sweden, where he was defeated by Jorgen Kruth via decision.

In addition, Botha participated once in the realm of mixed martial arts, where he was submitted by Yoshihiro Akiyama through an armbar on 31 December 2004.

On 14 October 2006, Botha secured a knockout victory over Espedito Da Silva at the K-1 Rules Africa Bomba-Yaa 2006 event. He made a comeback to kickboxing in 2008, earning a decision win against muay thai competitor Kaoklai Kaennorsing on 30 March at The KHAN event held in Seoul, Korea. Later that year, on 27 September, he suffered a decision loss to French kickboxer Gregory Tony at WFC 6 in Bulgaria.

Professional boxing record

No.	Result	Record	Opponent	Type	Round, time	Date	Location	Notes
63	Loss	48–11–3 (1)	Andrzej Wawrzyk	TKO	5 (10), 1:56	15 Mar 2014	Hotel Arłamów, Arłamów, Poland	Contested vacant Poland International heavyweight title
62	Loss	48–10–3 (1)	Joseph Parker	TKO	2 (8), 2:32	13 Jun 2013	The Trusts Arena, Auckland, New Zealand
61	Loss	48–9–3 (1)	Sonny Bill Williams	UD	10	8 Feb 2013	Brisbane Entertainment Centre, Brisbane, Australia	For vacant WBA International heavyweight title
60	Loss	48–8–3 (1)	Francesco Pianeta	UD	10	7 Sep 2012	RWE Rhein-Ruhr Sporthalle, Mülheim, Germany
59	Loss	48–7–3 (1)	Carlos Takam	TKO	11 (12)	31 Mar 2012	Gymnase Jean Richepin, Noisy-le-Grand, France	Contested WBO Africa and vacant WBF International heavyweight titles
58	Loss	48–6–3 (1)	Michael Grant	KO	12 (12), 2:23	19 Nov 2011	Montecasino, Johannesburg, South Africa	For WBF heavyweight title
57	Win	48–5–3 (1)	Flo Simba	TKO	6 (10), 2:50	4 Jun 2011	Emperor's Palace, Kempton Park, Gauteng, South Africa

Kickboxing record

27 March 2004 Loss Belgium Aziz Khattou K-1 WGP in Saitama Decision 3 3:00 31 December 2003 Loss JapanYusuke Fujimoto Dynamite!! Decision 3 3:00 6 December 2003 Loss FranceCyril Abidi K-1 2003 WGP Final Decision 3 3:00 11 September 2003 Loss FranceCyril Abidi K-1 2003 WGP Final Elimination DQ 1 0:19

4 Victories, 12 Defeats
Date	Result	Opponent	Event	Method	Round	Time
21 November 2015	Loss	Template:Country data PRC Template:Namespace detect showall Asihati	Kunlun Fight 34, Shenzhen, China	Decision	3	3:00
27 September 2008	Loss	France Gregory Tony	WFC 6, Sofia, Bulgaria	Decision	3	3:00
30 March 2008	Win	Thailand Kaoklai Kaennorsing	The Khan 1, Seoul, Korea	Decision	3	3:00
14 October 2006	Win	Template:Country data BRA Template:Namespace detect showall Espedito Da Silva	K-1 Rules Africa Bomba-Yaa 2006	KO (strikes)	2	N/A
20 May 2006	Loss	Sweden Jorgen Kruth	K-1 Scandinavia GP in Stockholm	Decision	3	3:00
5 March 2006	Loss	New Zealand Ray Sefo	K-1 WGP 2005 in Auckland	Decision	3	3:00
23 September 2005	Loss	Japan Musashi	K-1 2005 WGP Final Elimination	Decision	3	3:00
13 August 2005	Loss	United States Mighty Mo	K-1 2005 in Las Vegas II	TKO (strikes)	1	1:20
4 December 2004	Loss	Netherlands Remy Bonjasky	K-1 2004 WGP Final	Decision	3	3:00
4 December 2004	Win	Netherlands Peter Aerts	K-1 2004 WGP Final	TKO (leg injury)	1	1:13
25 September 2004	Win	France Jérôme Le Banner	K-1 2004 WGP Final Elimination	Forfeit (injury)	3	N/A
6 May 2004 Loss Netherlands Remy Bonjasky K-1 WGP in Nagoya Decision 3 3:00

Mixed Martial Arts Record

External Links

Fighter Profile at K-1