"Iron" Mike Tyson vs. Francois "The White Buffalo" Botha - January 16, 1999

Mike Tyson vs. Francois Botha
1999-01-16 : Mike Tyson 223 lbs beat Frans Botha 233¾ lbs by KO at 2:59 in round 5 of 10

Location: MGM Grand, Las Vegas, Nevada, USA
Referee: Richard Steele
Judge: Dave Moretti 36-40
Judge: Dalby Shirley 36-40
Judge: Bill Graham 36-39

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Tyson was trained by Tommy Brooks for this fight.

Francois Botha was Mike's first opponent after his controversial second match with

Evander Holyfield, which took place in June 1997. Tyson was banned for one entire year and was off in total for 1.5 years prior to facing Botha.

The fight saw Botha ahead on all scorecards until Tyson connected with one tremendous right hand that finished the match. Tyson threw a right while Botha was moving forward right into Tyson's punch. Botha was badly hurt and failed to beat the count. Botha tried to get up twice but failed, Tyson assisted the referee in helping Botha get up when the bell had rung. After the fight, Tyson stated at the press conference that he felt rusty.

At the end of round one there had been some controversy when Tyson held Botha's left arm, who punched at Tyson in order to get free. Later, Tyson said he had tried to break Botha's arm. Referee Steele deducted 2 points from Tyson.

Видео "Iron" Mike Tyson vs. Francois "The White Buffalo" Botha - January 16, 1999 канала Boxing Las Vegas