Former heavyweight champion Evander Holyfield stopped Frans Botha
in the eighth round on Saturday night.
The 47-year-old Holyfield (43-10-2) knocked the 41-year old
Botha (47-5-3) down with 2:36 left in the round with a right to the
left chin.
Botha beat referee Russell Mora's count, but with 2:05 left
Mora stopped the fight with Botha backed into a corner. It was
Holyfield's 28th career knockout.
Two judges had Botha ahead 67-66 when the fight was stopped.
The other judge had it 69-64 for Holyfield, the former heavyweight
champion.
There were only about 2,200 people in the stands at the
Thomas & Mack Center, most rooting for Holyfield.
Holyfield briefly lost his balance, stumbling into a corner
after a right from Botha with 2:04 left in the second round. After
that, Holyfield started taking control.
Botha, a native South African, was warned by the referee
twice in the first three rounds for hitting behind the head. Botha
also was warned in the first round for a double hit to the head
during a clinch.
This was Holyfield's first fight in Las Vegas since 2003,
when he lost to James Toney at Mandalay Bay.
Before Saturday Holyfield was only 10-6 in Las Vegas,
including the infamous ear-biting incident against Mike Tyson in
1997, when he won by disqualification.
