Botha decisions Mirovic!

08.07.07 - Heavyweight Francois Botha (45-4-2, 28 KOs) returning to the ring after five years of inactivity, showed that he still has much of his former boxing skills largely in tact, as he won an easy 12-round lopsided decision over Australian Bob Mirovic (28-19-2, 19 KOs) on Friday night at the Carousel in South Africa. Botha, now 38-years old, was the aggressor throughout the fight, landing combinations in his frequent attacks on the larger, 6’5” 265 lbs Mirovic.

As the bout wore on, Botha faded noticeably as the fight degraded into a dull clinching affair for much of the 2nd half of the bout. With the win, Botha claims the WBF interim heavyweight title. The final judges’ scores were119-109,120-108 and 120-107, all for Botha.

During the late 90s up until the time Botha stepped away from the ring in 2002, he was a highly sought out fighter, facing many of the top boxers, such as Mike Tyson, Wladimir Klitschko, Michael Moorer, and Lennox Lewis. Even though he lost to all of the those particular fighters, he gave most of them a hard fight, which made him an appealing fighter to go up against.