WeeklySA_AdminDECIDER: 50-year-old White Buffalo’s comeback jolts Thobela into getting back into the ring against Mitchell
By Pule Mokhine
The proposed coming back to the ring of legendary heavyweight boxer Francois “White Buffalo” Botha has jolted Dingaan “The Rose” Thobela’s desire to come out of retirement to face his long-time rival Brian “Mean Machine” Mitchell to prove who is the best between the two rivals.
In a surprise move last week, the 54-year-old legend Botha set tongues wagging in the boxing fraternity by announcing that he would emerge from obscurity to fight a tough and much younger American foe Trevor “The Dream” Bryan Jr in a mega-fight next month.
Botha, who famously held the International Boxing Federation (IBF) and World Boxing Association (WBA) titles during his fighting career, announced that he would return to the square jungle in Ohio, US on Augusts 12. The duo is expected to trade blows for the new championship called World Alliance Boxing Association heavyweight title.
The bout will enable “White Buffalo” to make history in boxing by breaking George Foreman’s record after the American became world’s oldest heavyweight champion at the age of 45 when he stopped Michael Moorer to capture the WBA and IBF heavyweight belts MGM Grand Arena in Los Angeles in 1994.
But Thobela is not the one to be outdone by the “White Buffalo” in the popularity stakes of the comeback trail as he (Thobela) by his own admission, says that he has been hankering for a match against Mitchell to prove who really is the best between the two pugilists.
Interestingly, both Thobela and Mitchell who campaigned as lightweights, are erstwhile world title holders, with The Rose later fighting as a supermiddleweight. During his prime before he hung up gloves, Thobela who is now 56, famously held the WBO lightweight diadem from 1990 to 1992; WBA lightweight in 1993; and the World Boxing Council supermiddleweight crown in 2 000 at the prime of a glittering fistic career. Mitchell, who is a thriving boxing trainer has now reached the age of 61, having competed from 1981 to 1995. He held the WBA super featherweight diadem from 1981 to 1985. He was WBA super featherweight kingpin from 1986 to 1991. Among his possessions were also the IBF super featherweight belt that he held from 1991 to 1992 prior his retirement from fighting competitively.
Now with Botha about to bounce back into the ring, Thobela feels himself and Mitchell justifiably owe it to the boxing fans to also come back from retirement and meet each other in a big fight. In fact, the fight enthusiasts called for the Thobela- Mitchell bout when both pugilists were still active boxers, but their clash never came to fruition.
And Thobela feels despite his advanced age with that of Mitchell’s, the much-awaited fight can still take place to appease the fans.
“If Botha can be given the chance to come out retirement to fight again, I feel me, and Mitchell can also bounce back and give our fans something to be cheerful about in the form of a long-awaited clash. I believe myself and Brain slugging it out is long overdue. I can’t wait any longer for that moment to come,” said Thobela this week. “The Rose” believes despite himself and rival Mitchell having reached “advanced ages”, their match would appease the boxing fans immensely.
“Look, I believe no fighter says no to compete in a comeback bout, as long both are declared medically fit to compete. So, if Botha has been declared fit to come out of retirement to box again, surely myself and Brian can be given the greenlight as well to compete. The ball is in Boxing South Africa’s court to subject us both to undergo a medical fitness test,” Thobela said.
If Thobela’s aspiration for a match-up with Mitchell is anything to go by, boxing fans wil really be in for a treat whenever the fight comes to fruition.
