Frank Maloney is urging boxing fans not to miss a once in a lifetime opportunity a week on Saturday. The colourful promoter has warned the British public that Lennox Lewis' clash with Francois Botha at the London Arena is likely to be their one and only chance to see a home-grown fighter defend the undisputed heavyweight championship of the world in this country.
The fact that Lewis, the WBC and IBF title holder, learnt his trade as an amateur in Canada and has been stripped of his WBA belt over a contractual dispute may slightly temper Maloney's argument, but not much. “This is an event that, probably, we may never witness again in our lifetime”, said Maloney. “The undisputed heavyweight champion of the world fighting on these shores and being British. If someone told you that you were actually going to live and see that, you would never have thought it possible. But it's happening on July the 15th and there's only two ways of seeing it, either being there live at the Arena or watching it on SKY Box Office”.
Maloney insists that Botha, beaten in five rounds by Mike Tyson last year, is a credible opponent who will give Lewis a fight for a while at least. He told SKYSports.com, “I think it will be a competitive fight in the early stages, but I think this is more of an event than a fight. This is a great event. The homecoming of Lennox Lewis who, whatever anyone wants to say, is the number one heavyweight on this planet earth and the most dangerous man out there. I think Botha is talking a great fight. He's very fit and looks well. He'll come to fight, but that will be his downfall, he said he had a lapse of concentration against Mike Tyson, but I think a lot of that had to do with the power of Mike Tyson's gloves. And I believe that Lennox Lewis hits a lot harder than Mike Tyson does, so for five rounds I think he'll be in the fight and then I think Lennox's skill, the domination of the pace, his left jab will definitely take it over. And then from there onwards I think Lennox Lewis will be home and dry and it will be, maybe, a six-round fight”.
