By Sean McDaniel: Unbeaten heavyweight prospect Tyson Fury (13-0, 9 KO’s) will be facing 42-year-old Francois Botha (47-5-3, 28 KO’s) on February 19th in a 10 round bout at the Wembley Arena, in London, England. Fury is taking a big step up from the domestic level and journeyman fighters he’s been fighting since he turned pro two years ago in 2008. Botha recently fought Evander Holyfield last year in April and was able to hang tough with Holyfield until getting stopped in the 8th round.
What Botha has going against him in the Fury match-up is his advanced age and the spare tire that Botha is carrying around his waist. In his prime, Botha weighed around 225 lbs. However, now Botha is fighting at 250, and he looks to be at least 30 pounds overweight with his big pendulous belly. Botha isn’t likely to lose his big stomach by the time he faces Fury next month unless Botha goes on a drastic weight loss program before then. Given than Botha has been fighting at 250+ since making his comeback in 2007, it’s safe to say that Botha will just as fat as always when he takes on Fury next month in Wembley.
Fury, with his new trainer Emanuel Steward, he defeated journeyman Zack Page by an eight round decision in his last fight in December 2010. Fury looked good for the first four rounds when he was using his jab to fight on the outside. However, after the 4th, Fury resorted to his crude brawling style of fighting and ended up looking sloppy as always. He got the win but he didn’t impress.
Fury had this to say about his fight with Botha in an article at thesun.co.uk, “Botha’s experienced and tough. He has shared the ring with some truly world class fighters, but to be the best I must overcome all obstacles.”
Comments are closed.