I’ve always liked South Africa’s heavyweight star of the 1990s and the first decade or so of the 2000s. I met Francois Botha in Las Vegas in 1995, when he fought journeyman Willie Jake on the Holmes-McCall undercard
Embed from Getty ImagesThe sheer modesty of the man was what struck me first. When you meet Francois, his inherent “goodness of soul” is readily apparent. He had just beaten Willie to go to 35-0 and was being touted for a fight with Mike Tyson. Despite all the hoopla surrounding him, Francois, in his unassuming way, came and sat in the ringside seats with the rest of us. It wasn’t dark yet, and the crowd was still fairly thin, so he was noticed. Yet, despite the fuss from some of the fans, Botha behaved like anything but a celebrity. He was affable, polite and approachable.
Francois carried the nickname “The White Buffalo” with ease. It suited him. He wasn’t muscular in the way we usually think of heavyweight boxers, but he had this presence. He was overwhelmingly big. He stands only 6’2″, three inches shorter than I am. He weighed a lot less than I did as well, maybe 230 pounds. At the time, I weighed 285. Yet, weirdly, he seemed bigger than me.
The best way I can describe him is this. He looked like a farmhand, maybe a cowboy. It was hard to picture him lifting weights in a gym, yet I could easily envision him pitchforking a bale of hay twenty feet into the air. Strong boy.
The road to the heavyweight title
The Jake fight wasn’t a great introduction to Francois the boxer. I’m sure even he would admit it wasn’t his best performance. To be fair, it was a ridiculously hot day. Also, if memory serves, Willie was a last-second replacement and not the boxer Francois had prepared for. Willie was more a cruiserweight than a heavyweight, and in that heat, being lighter helped.
Whatever the reason, Francois wasn’t at his best, and I think the promoters saw a future big payday vanishing, because something happened that, to this day, I’ve never seen again. In the middle of the fight, the ring announcer declared, “Due to time constraints, this fight has been shortened from 10 rounds to 8!”
I was sitting ringside. I couldn’t believe what I’d just heard. Apparently, the time constraints had only become apparent once Francois started running out of steam. Don King was involved. Need I say more?
I’m not sure shortening the fight was necessary. Yes, Francois was blowing pretty hard, but he was well ahead and Jake’s punches weren’t troubling him. Botha went on to win a unanimous decision. Nevertheless, the bout was shortened, and that wasn’t a great look.
At the time, I thought, “I’d like to fight this guy.” Then came his next bout, and my enthusiasm waned. My God, Francois was strong. And he could really box!
That next fight was against Germany’s Axel Schulz, later that same year, for the IBF heavyweight crown. The fight took place in Germany. Despite Schulz’s hometown advantage, Botha was awarded a split-decision win. Personally, I had him winning easily. You can imagine how the fight went when you remember that he managed to get the nod on Schulz’s home turf.
Unfortunately, the decision was overturned and the fight declared a no-contest because Botha failed a drug test. He later admitted to using an anabolic steroid.
Now, I need to be clear here. I in no way endorse the use of PEDs. That being said, during the era in question, I’d wager a very large sum that Francois was more guilty of being the one who got caught than anything else. I’ll leave this topic right here.
Tyson, Lewis and Klitschko
Embed from Getty ImagesBotha would eventually get his shot at Tyson four years later, getting stopped in the fifth by as perfect a right hand as Iron Mike ever threw.
I saw something in both men that night that has stayed with me over the years. In the opening rounds, Tyson was Tyson, and the Marquess of Queensberry wouldn’t have been thrilled by Mike’s scant regard for the rules. At one point, he tried to break Botha’s arm in a clinch. That was the first time I ever saw Francois lose his temper in the ring. It was weird seeing his whole demeanour change.
The other thing was that Tyson showed me a different side of himself as well. I think he respected Botha’s courage and ability. When he knocked Francois out in the fifth, Botha tried to stand and began falling backwards. Mike rushed to help him, trying to prevent him from hurting himself. I’ve never forgotten those images. To me, that was one boxer telling another, “I’m sorry. I respect you very much.”
That was probably Botha’s peak. He’d fight for many more years, losing in spectacular fashion to Lennox Lewis in two rounds, then suffering an eighth-round stoppage against Wladimir Klitschko in 2002. But he was on the decline by then.
Eight years later, Francois took an ill-advised bout against Evander Holyfield, resulting in another eighth-round stoppage. He was far, far past his “best before” date for that fight, and the result was predictable.
Francois fought on until 2014, having his last fight at about 46 years of age. Besides Lewis, Tyson and Holyfield, his resume includes the likes of Michael Moorer, Shannon Briggs, Clifford Etienne and Michael Grant.
His final record was 48 wins, 11 losses, three draws and one no-contest, with 29 knockouts, in 63 fights. Personally, I look at it a bit differently. He had only one win in his last nine fights because, like so many boxers, he just hung on too long. I think of him as a 47-4-2 fighter.
The White Buffalo’s Legacy
Francois occupied that difficult space for a boxer. He was very, very good, but “just this short” of being on the very top rung. He could fight with the best heavyweights of his generation, and on a good night, he could give any of them trouble. But the championship that might have established him among the elite never became his to keep.
He’s gone on to a successful career in the private security business in his native South Africa. I’m glad for him. He was a good fighter, and from the little time I spent with him, a good man.
Safe to say, I miss him.
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