Botha picks up decision under Fremont canopy

Dean Juipe

Wednesday, June 6, 2001 | 10:58 a.m.

Head hunting is a risky vocation.

It's a feast or famine type of thing, not only in its most primitive jungle setting but for a professional fighter who chooses that approach as his primary strategy.

Frans Botha, at the age of 32, has decided to become a head hunter in the ring. And he's got the power to unload some ferocious shots, as he planted on David Bostice Tuesday night in the main event of a boxing card held under the canopy of the Fremont Street Experience.

But when even the most lethal of those bombs fails to produce the desired knockout, the head hunter is left open to criticism.

As such, Botha himself was admitting his failure to put Bostice to sleep was something of a letdown despite winning a 10-round unanimous decision.

"I'm not disappointed," the former heavyweight champion said later. "But I wasn't sharp. I really couldn't get off like I wanted to and I was trying to connect with the right (hand) too much, because he was open for the left."

In truth, Botha pounded Bostice with a number of heavy duty shots, yet, to Bostice's never-ending credit, he not only took the salvos but gamely fought back. It wasn't an easy fight for either man, although the pressure was on Botha to come up with a knockout in the nationally televised setting.

"Oh, he took some big shots," Botha exclaimed. "But he was prepared. If I hadn't been prepared at all, I'd be dead.

"It was a sauna out there. It was hot -- I lost 20 pounds."

Neither man was down nor cut in a fight that the judges saw in agreement, Dave Moretti calling it 96-94, Bill Graham 96-93 and Jerry Roth 97-92. The Sun scorecard had it 98-92 for Botha.

"I didn't think it was seven rounds to three," Bostice complained. "I thought it was a draw."

Bostice, who fell to 25-4-1 and was paid $14,000, was in his greatest danger in the sixth round when Botha put his weaponry to work with a series of crushing blows that backed Bostice into the ropes.

"He stunned me," Bostice said, but he didn't feel Botha lived up to the brawler image he was presenting with his hands -- especially his left -- dangling low.

"Nah, a brawler comes forward and tries to throw punches," Bostice said. "I was the one coming forward most of the time."

While Bostice's handlers were taking calls on their cell phones from friends who complained about the scoring, the verdict was legitimate.

"I know it looks bad," Botha said of his going-for-broke style. "It's a problem for me but I'm comfortable with my hands down and relying on my reflexes."

He improved to 43-3-1 and was paid $25,000.

In the semi-main event, local junior welterweight David Sample suffered a career-threatening loss when he was beaten by Mario Ramos in a 10-round bout. Sample, 29-7-1, hadn't fought in 13 months but wasn't busy enough to fend off Ramos, who is now 10-1-1.

There were no knockdowns or telling blows in a fight scored 97-93 by both Carol Castellano and Art Lurie, and 96-94 by Robert Hoyle.