Busy Botha has Bostice up next

Dean Juipe

Monday, June 4, 2001 | 10:26 a.m.

Angling for another try at a heavyweight championship, Frans Botha comes into his Tuesday fight with David Bostice at the Fremont Street Experience hoping to stay busy this year and re-establish himself as a worthy contender.

Botha, 32, is 43-3-1 with 27 knockouts and once held the International Boxing Federation heavyweight title. But a loss to Michael Moorer cost him that honor, and a fight with then-champion Lennox Lewis last year in London had a devastating result for the affable South African and occasional Las Vegas resident.

"My performance that night spoke for itself," Botha said Sunday. "I was terrible."

Largely inactive in the months preceding the fight with Lewis, Botha said he sparred "only 20 rounds" in preparation for the champion.

"I had nothing," he said. "I had a lot of physical problems and was in pain."

He said he was guilty of sitting around and waiting for a big fight to fall in his lap, as one with Mike Tyson had in 1999. (Botha lost that fight by fifth-round knockout but was winning through four completed rounds and distinguished himself as a fighter with legitimate talents.) But, his new approach is to stay busy and fight often.

"I might fight five more times this year," he said, alluding to a series of bouts that could take place in South Africa. "If I can, when the dust settles in the heavyweight division, I'll be right there."

He'd like to fight Tyson again but there is also Hasim Rahman, John Ruiz and maybe even Evander Holyfield or Lewis to consider.

"After what happened in the Lewis fight I decided I had to stay busy and try and get in shape," Botha said. "If you're not in great shape and you take a fight, your body breaks down.

"Now I'm sparring three to five rounds every day, and lifting (weights) and eating right."

Botha trained for this fight in Los Angeles, using James Toney and Lamon Brewster among his sparring partners. He said he will weigh 227 pounds for the fight with Bostice, who is 25-3-1 with 13 KOs.

"I've seen him fight and he's tough," Botha said of Bostice, who has fought here several times in recent years. "It's good to not be fighting a guy who is too easy."

Botha's last opponent, Joey Guy at the Orleans on March 16, was too easy and that fight was over in one round.

"I have no doubt I'll handle (Bostice)," Botha said. "But I'm going to go about it in the right way and use my skills."

He also said he was happy to be a part of the first-ever card at the Fremont Street Experience and that the ESPN2 television crew is a bonus.

"This could be the start of something big for downtown," he said. "And it's always a plus to get TV's exposure and coverage."

The seven-bout card opens at 5:30 p.m. and the TV portion begins at 6, with Botha vs. Bostice set for approximately 7.