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Young upstart Flo Simba could find his career accelerated if a touted bout against Evander Holyfield happens
Should Flo Simba have the beating of former champion Francois Botha on June 4, an even bigger prize awaits him in the months to come. In an extraordinary development, Evander Holyfield’s management has been negotiating with WBF representative Howard Goldberg about a possible fight with the young upstart.
It might seem pie-in-the-sky, but the approach came from the American’s camp and promoter Rodney Berman is more than happy to listen. “There are a lot of variables, but Howard has chatted to Holyfield’s lawyer,” said Berman. “The first steps have been made.” Better still is that Holyfield, the only four-time heavyweight champion in history, would apparently be happy to fight in South Africa, which would obviously suit Simba.
The two main impediments are the fights that await both boxers: Simba is due to meet Botha, while Holyfield has a provisional date to fight Denmark’s Brian Nielsen. “It’s a very distinct probability,” said Berman, who laughed off suggestions that Holyfield, at 48, was past it.
“The man’s a machine and built like Hercules. It wasn’t too long ago that he gave Nikolai Valuev the fright of his life in a WBA title fight and everyone knows his commitment to the game. He’s been in with everyone and I’ve no doubt he would be in Flo’s face from the start. With some luck we can pull this together.”
April 27, 2011 at 10:50 am, Dave said:
This is a nice name for Flo to add to his knock out list. At 48 years old the man is not 20% as quick as he used to be not to mention stamina. At least Flo will be getting the right experience though.
June 04, 2011 at 1:41 am, Dominic said:
Holyfield will flat out kill Flo if they fight! Simba is a basketball player turned boxer, only boxing he’s ever done has been as a pro. Even if Holyfield was 60 he’d beat Simba!!!
April 28, 2011 at 7:32 am, Waynie P said:
This is quite exciting and if Holyfield does come off and Simba beats him surely it will awaken the Klitchko brothers of Flo, maybe he gets a crack sooner than we thought? ? ?
April 28, 2011 at 9:27 am, Simon said:
I think a crack at the Klitchko’s is a bit unrealistic. If Flo continues his steady progress, he’ll get a chance at real Heaveyweight glory in about 2 – 3 years. At that time I think both Klitchko’s will have hung up their gloves. I rate Flo, but he still hasn’t been tested against a decent apponent. He must be very careful with his fight against Botha. The guy is old but Flo must be weary.
April 28, 2011 at 6:41 pm, Bob Weave said:
I say Flo”D-Man”Simba vs Luis “Big Thing” Ortiz.They say a lot about this dude in the states..I want Flo to shut em up.
April 29, 2011 at 9:21 am, Dave said:
Simon i agree with you 100%! You’re the first person on here that actually see this kid like i do. If Flo’s manager can hold back without pushing him to soon he will develop into something huge. Let’s hope they stop punting him like the best boxer since sliced bread.
April 29, 2011 at 12:01 pm, Pierre said:
Yeah, exactly. Let him develop at a natural pace. Remember what happened to Courage Tshabalala.
April 30, 2011 at 2:31 am, Britt said:
I don’t think Flo is really ready for ”The Real Deal” Holyfield, I mean really have you see this old man he’s still a killer at 48 he’ll give most highly rated Heavyweight’s a good old fashion beating please GGP reconsider this be for taking this major fight, I mean Holyfield & Glen Johnson are the two old men that can bang and believe they won’t back down for no Prospects .
May 03, 2011 at 3:34 pm, Duncan said:
Flo has was it takes but school him he will go places in the near future .Flo can bomb and has good boxing skills lets see first what he does with Fransie.
May 05, 2011 at 12:06 pm, Pierre said:
Ja but Flo has not yet fought a real heavyweight. Almost all of his opponents have been cruiserweights who have come in just slightly over the cruiserweight limit to fight at heavyweight. I will be very interested to see what Flo’s weight is going to be for the Botha fight. He is still very young, so it could be that he’s going to fill out.
May 10, 2011 at 8:01 am, Flo Simba Fan(Black Panther) said:
DANCAN,
I AGREE 100% WITH YOU, BUT LET ME TELL ALL YOUR PEOPLE “FLO SIMBA” IS MORE READY FOR FRANSIE THAT HE WAS WITH HIS OTHER BOUTS,
I SAW FLO LAST NIGHT, MAN THIS BOY GOT A KO PUNCH ON HIM JUST WHAT A HEAVY WEIGHT BOXER NEEDS, AND TO PUT 1 TO THE CANVAS LIKE FRANSIE BOTHA,
I HEARD HIS TRAINING HARD IN DURBAN,HIS GOT SPARRING WITH LEE DYER FOR HIS SPEED(GOOD LIKE)
May 10, 2011 at 1:14 pm, Greg said:
I must say Flo is a great boxer.
his speed and power give him the advantage.
he must be one of the hardest hitters out their at the moment.
I dont give Fransie much of a chance come the 4th i predict a 3rd round knock out to Flo.
May 11, 2011 at 7:09 am, Flo Simba Fan(Black Panther) said:
ITS FRANSIE BOTHA THATS TRAINING IN DURBAN,I HOPE HIS TRAINING HARD,BECAUSE IT’S A LONG WAY TO COME AND HIT THE CANVAS AND LAY ON IT
YOU GO “FLO”
May 17, 2011 at 4:18 pm, Fight Fan said:
Flo is a good prospect but I’m concerned his management are rushing him into a big fight too soon. I think this could be a very difficult fight for Flo given Botha’s vast experience. Event hough Botha is 42 he can still brawl and is incredibly tough. Flo better be in good shape cos he’s going to have to go the distance against the ‘White Buffalo’ to win. The keys to victory for the younger man will be to utilise his superior handspeed and jab. If he comes in all guns blazing to try and knock Botha’s head off in the 1st round he could come up short. As for Flo going up against WBF champ Holyfield, I think that’s way too premature. ‘The Real Deal’ is still very competitive at top level and would be too much for Simba to handle at this early stage of his career. Flo’s management should rather bring him on a little more slowly. After all, even Mike Tyson has 20 odd fights before he challenged for a world heavyweight title.
May 19, 2011 at 4:44 pm, Tiki said:
This is a fight i wouldnt want to miss, Flo has speed and power whereas botha has power, but i am sure speed will reign on the 4th of June and Flo will floor Botha
May 31, 2011 at 9:46 am, vinay said:
Flo wins in the later rounds…. i dont think Botha has much stamina left… R10000 on Flo = R6500 profit