Evander Holyfield four-time heavyweight champ had a hardy opponent in Francois Botha during their match on Saturday held at the Thomas and Mack Center in Las Vegas. The match was over after 8 rounds after landing Botha on the canvas with a technical knockout before calling out for more matches with younger opponents.
“I’m going to be the undisputed heavyweight champion of the world,” the 49-year old confidently vowed during the press conference that followed.
“He’s a true warrior. I didn’t feel ashamed losing to a great champion like him.” Botha remarked at the after the fight.
In the beginning rounds it seemed like Holyfield was evenly-matched. Botha, younger than Holyfield at 41 looked like the more aggressive fighter and wining the earlier rounds. He even managed to let fly a strong hit on Holyfield’s midsection that sent the latter staggering backwards. However, Botha started to slow down in the 8th round, and Holyfield took his chance to get in more hits of his own, first letting fly a right hand that knocked Botha down. Although Botha beat the count Holyfield followed with a number of shots that proved impossible for Botha to overcome. Referee Russel Mora called the fight at 0:55 of the round. This is Holyfield’s first fight in Last Vegas since 2003. The win improves his record to 43-10-2 with 28 knockouts.