Axel Schulz vs Francois Botha

Francois Botha of South Africa was awarded the vacant IBF world heavyweight title after twelve rounds with Axel Schulz at Stuttgart’s Schleyerhalle on Saturday, 9 December 1995. The judges’ verdict was first announced as a split decision, then corrected to a unanimous one. By then, spectators had thrown coins and bottles into the ring. The result was subsequently set aside after Botha failed a drug test.

George Foreman had vacated the title after the IBF ordered him to meet Schulz again. Their April bout in Las Vegas had ended in a disputed majority decision for Foreman. The vacancy brought together the federation’s two leading contenders. Botha, ranked first, came to Stuttgart with 35 wins, 21 by knockout. Schulz, ranked second, had the backing of a crowd of about 11,000.

Botha took the initiative in the opening rounds. He threw with both hands, working at Schulz’s head and striking his arms when the German covered up. Schulz kept his gloves high and answered in short bursts. Several firm rights got through, but Botha continued to stand his ground, often lowering his hands in the centre of the ring.

At the end of the sixth, Botha looked weary and swung wide. In the opposite corner, trainer Manfred Wolke urged Schulz to go after a knockout. Schulz came out more briskly in the seventh and put his punches together more often. He kept up the attack through the ninth. During that spell, Botha lost his mouthpiece and was made to stagger, but he stayed on his feet.

Schulz’s pace slackened after the ninth, and Botha finished the stronger in the twelfth. Neither man went down. Schulz had swelling around his eyes, cheeks and lips by the end. When the first verdict was read, Al DeVito’s card was announced as 115-113 for Schulz. The corrected totals gave Botha all three cards. DeVito scored it 118-111; Harry Davis 116-112; and Henry Eugene Grant 115-113.

As bottles came down towards the ring, some spectators tried to climb in, and others took cover under tables. Six people were treated in hospital for cuts from broken glass. Botha’s sample tested positive for nandrolone, a banned anabolic steroid. In February, the IBF fined him $50,000 and ordered a rematch, then changed its ruling and directed him to defend against Michael Moorer. Schulz and his promoters took the matter to federal court in New Jersey. In March, the court ordered the IBF to disqualify Botha.

The Stuttgart bout went into the record as a no contest, and the title was vacant again. Moorer won it on a split decision over Schulz at Dortmund on 22 June 1996.

I could see why Stuttgart fancied Schulz after he ran Foreman so close. He could pick a lovely right hand, but he spent too much of the first six rounds with his gloves glued to his cheeks. From the seventh, he started putting his shots together and made Botha look ordinary. Three good rounds don’t make up for all that waiting. I had Botha ahead because he kept working and had more left in the twelfth. Once he tested positive for nandrolone, the verdict had to go.