Tyson thinks he knows enough about Botha
Tyson thinks he knows enough about Botha
LAS VEGAS, Nevada (AP): Mike Tyson knows only two things about
Francois Botha.
"He's white, and he can't beat me," Tyson said of the opponent
he will face Saturday night in a 10-round fight in the MGM Grand
Garden.
It will be Tyson's first fight since the suspension for biting
Evander Holyfield's ears on June 28, 1997.
Indosiar will broadcast live the fight on Sunday at 9 a.m.
West Indonesia Time.
Tyson was a 6-1 favorite to beat Botha, who won the IBF
heavyweight title in 1995. But championship recognition was
withdrawn after he tested positive for a steroid.
"I'm going to come right after him," the 32-year-old Tyson
said. "I expect him to go down, be out cold."
Tyson weighed in Thursday at 223 pounds (100 kilograms), the
heaviest of his career, but he appeared to be in top physical
condition. What kind of fighting shape he's in after a layoff of
about 19 months remains to be seen.
"You never know until a guy is actually fighting," said Tommy
Brooks, Tyson's new trainer. "From what I've seen in the sparring
sessions, there is no ring rust."
Brooks also thinks Tyson has been able to put the Bite Fight
behind him and focus on his boxing future. He also said the
subject of Holyfield has not come up since Brooks began working
with Tyson two months ago.
"I don't think he's lost confidence in himself," Brooks said.
"He lost confidence in his corner.
"His trainers weren't telling him anything in the Holyfield
fights. When you come back to the corner and they're not telling
you anything, that could put a damper on the program."
Jay Bright was Tyson's trainer when he lost the WBA
heavyweight to Holyfield in 11 rounds on Nov. 9, 1996. Richie
Giachetti trained Tyson for the Holyfield rematch. Tyson weighed
222 pounds (100 kgs) for the first fight and 218 pounds (98 kgs)
for the second.
Botha, a 30-year-old South African who weighed 233 pounds (105
kgs), expects Tyson to attack from the opening bell.
"He always comes out fast and tries to make it a short night,"
said Botha, who has fought less than two full rounds in 19
months. "I'm making myself ready for an early attack.
"My strategy is the way Holyfield fought him. You can't run
away from the guy. (Bruce) Seldon, (Frank) Bruno and others
closed up, put themselves on the ropes, and Tyson could take his
shots. I will tie him up when I have to and not stand still in
front of him."
While Botha is a much more credible opponent than Peter
McNeeley, who didn't last one round in Tyson's first fight after
his release from prison in 1995, he has not shown himself to be
on the level of a Holyfield despite his 39-1 record.
Botha, who lives in Newport Beach, California, won the vacant
IBF title by outpointing Axel Schulz on Dec. 9, 1995, in Germany,
then was stripped because of the positive drug test. His loss
came when he was stopped in the 12th round by Michael Moorer in a
bid for the IBF title in Las Vegas on Nov. 9, 1996.
Most feared
Tyson is not as quick as he was when he was the most feared
fighter in the world from 1986 to 1990, but he is quicker than
Botha. The 6-foot-2 (1.85-meter) Botha has scored 24 knockouts,
but he doesn't match the punching power of Tyson, who is listed
at 5-11 1/2 (1.8 meters), but appears shorter.
Tyson (45-3, with 39 knockouts) is getting US$10 million for
the pay-per-view match. Botha's purse is $1.85 million.
The telecast will begin at 9 p.m. EST (0200 GMT Sunday) with
the Tyson-Botha match to start no later than 11:30 p.m. (0430 GMT
Sunday).
It will be preceded by a 12-round lightweight bout between
Goyo Vargas of Mexico and Ben Tackie of Ghana and an IBF junior
lightweight title defense by Roberto Garcia of Oxnard, California
against John Molina of Puerto Rico.