Botha’s wait finally ends

Frans Botha finally will face former four-time heavyweight champion Evander Holyfield on Saturday in a bout that was supposed to happen 10 years ago.

"What are you going to do?" Botha, 41, said matter-of-factly. "In a way, it bothers me that we never fought earlier."

The South African will get a $100,000 purse in the 12-round heavyweight bout at the Thomas & Mack Center. Holyfield, 47, will make $150,000 plus a percentage of the pay-per-view telecast.

A dispute over money kept the bout from happening a decade ago.

"At the time, I was No. 1, and I was supposed to fight Evander," Botha said. "But (promoter) Don King wanted me to fight Orlin Norris first, then Evander. He offered me $200,000, and I said no. He upped it to $400,000, and I said no to that. Suddenly, I dropped from No. 1 to No. 11."

Botha took King to court and eventually settled with him. But a Holyfield fight was no longer a possibility.

Still, Botha has had his chances to win a world title.

In 1995, he beat Axel Schultz in Germany for the IBF heavyweight belt. But the fight was declared a no contest after Botha tested positive for steroids.

In 1996, he got another shot at the IBF title only to be stopped by Michael Moorer in the 12th round.

Lennox Lewis beat Botha in 2000, scoring a second-round technical knockout with the WBC and IBF belts at stake.

Then in 2002, Wladimir Klitschko beat Botha with an eighth-round TKO to keep the WBO title.

Botha's other loss came in 1999, when Mike Tyson knocked him out in the fifth round at the MGM Grand.

"I feel I didn't capitalize on my opportunities," said Botha (47-4-3, 28 knockouts), the World Boxing Federation heavyweight champion. "I should have beaten Michael Moorer, and when I fought Klitschko, I didn't even train."

Botha had to submit to prefight drug testing when he arrived in Las Vegas last week, and his test came back clean.

He said he didn't realize he was taking steroids when he fought Schultz but that the blame lies with himself.

"I should never have done it," Botha said of using nandrolone to recover from an arm injury sustained in training. "It never really helped me."

Botha retired from boxing in 2002 to pursue a career as a kickboxer and dabbled in mixed martial arts.

He made a boxing comeback in 2007, beating Bob Mirovic, then took the next two years off to return to kickboxing.

He came back to boxing again in February 2009 and was 2-0-1 last year.

When Crown Boxing matchmaker Frank Luca offered Botha six figures to finally fight Holyfield, he couldn't say no.

"Last year, I was fighting all these other guys and getting by," Botha said. "Now I'm fighting a legend. I haven't been this excited about a fight in a long time."

Botha doesn't need to be reminded he's 41. But based on what he has seen of himself in training, he's convinced he's not through as a fighter.

"The way I've been sparring, I could see I could still fight," he said. "My timing and my reflexes are still there. I'm probably not as strong as I once was, but you don't have to have strength to knock someone out. It's all about timing and landing a good shot.

"I know 10 years is a long time to wait. But if I can beat (Holyfield), this would make my resume complete."

Contact reporter Steve Carp at scarp@reviewjournal.com or 702-387-2913.