Corrie Sanders v Francois Botha

[Bodyshot3]

Sanders would start favourite as a southpaw with some proper firepower and speed.....and clubbing Wlad to the canvas in Germany is way better than merely dealing with Schulz and then getting pulled-up for a dodgy test.

But there's a lot of SA bragging rights resting on this fight and Botha would have been a disciplined, fit and the guy did have a few moves of his own at his very best.

A fast start from Sanders was almost a given and he often found his range and unloaded from the outset......but Botha would have surely known that and I don't necessarily see him standing centre ring and risking taking a game-ending bomb.

Maybe the fight is cagey and Botha bides his time; just makes it longer and messier than Sanders usually wanted and it becomes interesting around the sixth round?

Then again, Sanders might have taken 60 seconds to eye-up Botha and bombed him out inside a round

[Matt the Master]

Much as I like and respect Botha, Sanders would have kayoed him in 5 rounds

Wow Henry, you really are all over these threads !!! Hard to disagree with you that Corey would have KO'd Botha, but Botha had a massively underatted chin, he took a hell of a lot of punishment against some of the hardest hitters in the history of the sport, Mike Tyson, Lennox Lewis, Evander Holyfield, Wladimir Klitschko, Joseph Parker, hell he even went the distance with Shannon Briggs !!!

Sanders KO'ed Botha 3 times in amateurs. Botha lasted the distance only once against him in the amateurs.

Thanks for the info, boxrec doesn't keep records of the amateurs, and I always wondered why they had never met each other in the pros ! Can you or anyone else clear up how in the world could Botha have fought for the 'Polish Heavyweight title' seeing as he is not Polish ? Maybe its a case of him having been based there at the time ? Polish Heavyweight Albert Sosnowski was included in many British rankings down to the fact that he was based over here during the time he fought Vitali Klitschko, but I can't for the life of me fathom how that could be, its listed here in the boxrec records.

[Bodyshot3]

Thanks for the info, boxrec doesn't keep records of the amateurs, and I always wondered why they had never met each other in the pros ! Can you or anyone else clear up how in the world could Botha have fought for the 'Polish Heavyweight title' seeing as he is not Polish ? Maybe its a case of him having been based there at the time ? Polish Heavyweight Albert Sosnowski was included in many British rankings down to the fact that he was based over here during the time he fought Vitali Klitschko, but I can't for the life of me fathom how that could be, its listed here in the boxrec records.

Botha's career went AWOL towards the end Matt and he was simply picking-up work wherever and whenever he could and that often meant Mickey Mouse titles got thrown into the mix and especially WBF stuff.........Frans was still a ticket-seller and the promoters made sure that a title (however dubious) was on the billboard.

But I do agree........the Republic of Poland International Heavyweight Title is properly heading-off into La-La-Land
I very much doubt that it has been contested for again and the promoter has forgotten it actually exists?

[gilgamesh]

I haven't seen a ton of either fighter, but I've seen 'em both about 3 or 4 times each, and I'd definitely favor Sanders.

[ClivePatrickLyons]

Sanders had the wood on Botha in the amateurs i know a 12 rounder in pro's when both in their prime would be an entirely different story but i got a feeling it would end up the same old story with Corrie hand raised and declared the winner by Un Dec

[Bodyshot3]

Sanders had the wood on Botha in the amateurs i know a 12 rounder in pro's when both in their prime would be an entirely different story but i got a feeling it would end up the same old story with Corrie hand raised and declared the winner by Un Dec

Definitely a top fight for somewhere like a Jo'burg/Pretoria rugby stadium or one of those tacky casino resorts Sol Kerzner owned but which always landed some big bouts.

I'd heavily back Sanders as well with an early KO very much on the cards, especially if Frans chose to have a tear-up..

But I still think things might get interesting if Botha kept a calm head and opted to keep himself out of trouble; just moved and blocked, prepared to lose a few rounds to stay in the fight and keep some of his own, decent powder dry.

Corrie really was not the most patient fella and a prime Botha did had enough skill not to get tagged and set a few traps later down the line.

The best of Sanders v prime Gerrie Coetzee would also have been a belter.