By Jim Dower: #13 WBO heavyweight fringe contender Francesco Pianeta (27-1-1, 14 KO’s) defeated 43-year-old Frans Botha (48-8-3, 29 KO’s) by a lackluster 10 round unanimous decision on Friday night at the RWE Rhein-Ruhr Sporthalle, Muelheim, Nordrhein-Westfalen, Germany. The final judges’ scores were 100-96, 99-92 and 97-93, all for Pianeta.
Botha, at one time one of the best heavyweights in the world in early 90s, hasn’t one fight since last year. He could do little more than throw and then grab against Pianeta tonight and he didn’t look good at all.
Pianeta needs to step it up against better opposition than this if he ever wants to get a shot at a world title. The 6’5″ Pianeta has been fighting as a pro for seven years and has an inflated record of wins over little more than 3rd tier opposition. At some point his handlers are going to have to step him up against better opponents before he ends up wasting his career on building a fluff record.
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In other action on the card, WBF/WBO female middleweight champion Cristina Hammer (13-0, 7 KO’s) defeated Yahaira Hernandez (11-4, 5 KO’s) by a 10 round unanimous decision.
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WBO European light heavyweight champion Denis Simcic (28-2, 14 KO’s) was surprisingly defeated by challenger Jonathan Profichet (14-8, 8 KO’s) by a 1st round knockout over Simcic.
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Heavyweight Markus Tomala (8-2, 3 KO’s) defeated Tomas Mrazek (7-36-6, 5 KO’s) by a 6 round unanimous decision. The final judges’ scores were 60-54, 59-55 and 59-56.