Golden Gloves

If all goes according to plan, it could be a big year for heavyweight hope Flo Simba

Despite his better judgment, promoter Rodney Berman is looking beyond Flo Simba’s upcoming June 4 bout against Francois Botha at Emperors Palace.

The Botha bout is the biggest of Simba’s fledgling career and while the former heavyweight champion stands like a seven-foot wall between Simba and his ambitions, Berman’s already dreaming of bigger and better things.

After making contact with heavyweight legend Evander Holyfield (via WBF president Howard Goldberg) to discuss the prospects of a bout, Berman has since followed up by sending tapes of Simba in action to Holyfield’s camp.

“There’s still a way to go until this becomes a reality, but all big fights start this way,” said Golden Gloves CEO Rodney Berman.

Holyfield may not be the force he once was, but he still carries huge cachet as a fighter and has remained inactive. Indeed, he fought (and won) last weekend.

Berman conceded that this might be misinterpreted as arrogance – all indications are that Botha is hard in training and will give Simba a serious contest – but assured that he wasn’t getting ahead of himself.

“The only reason I’m negotiating now is that it could take months to tie down and I’m loathe to keep Flo on ice for too long – he’s young, he can fight often. There is no way he or I are expecting an easy fight in a fortnight. Botha is a big man and he hasn’t taken kindly to us matching him against a youngster. He’s said that he feels insulted and will teach Flo a lesson.”

Manager Brian Mitchell isn’t too concerned by the threat posed by Botha. “He was all mouth when I ran into him at the airport recently,” said the local boxing great. “I told him he’s no legend. He said he’ll spoil the party come June 4. Bring it on – we’ll be ready.”

Tickets are selling fast, with a limited number still available at Computicket.