Hydr8 Zero Explosion: Parker V Botha

Hydr8 Zero Explosion

Press Release

Monday 8 April, 5am

FOR Francois Botha the best remedy to the lingering stench of his controversial meeting with Sonny Bill Williams is to front in New Zealand in June to destroy Kiwi boxing phenom Joseph Parker.

Botha last night agreed terms to headline the Hydr8 Zero Explosion on June 13 in Auckland.

“I can’t wait to get back into the ring,” said Botha ahead of the eight round bout.

“I will be something of a cleansing for what happened earlier in the year.”

Botha, known as The White Buffalo, was centre stage in the controversy that dominated boxing news in February when his bout against SBW in Queensland was controversially cut from 12 rounds to ten.

Allegations of corruption, bribes and failed drugs test followed as Botha was forced to accept that the ‘loss’ to SBW would remain on his record.

“Everyone knows what happened in Australia,” he says.

“I was getting control of the fight – he was ready to go down and the fight was called off. It was criminal.

“They want a rematch but I’ve moved on. I'm not going to wait around for Sonny to make up his mind about a rematch. I don't trust anything that camp says so I'm more than happy to smash Joseph Parker up in the meantime.

“By the time I leave NZ everyone will know the Buffalo isn't extinct - it's alive and kicking.”

The bout marks a massive step up for Parker who is touted as New Zealand’s best heavyweight prospect since David Tua.

His previous four pro bouts have been against local fighters. In contrast Botha has fought 61 times and has been in with some of the biggest names in boxing including world champions Lennox Lewis, Mike Tyson, Michael Moorer, Shannon Briggs, Evander Holyfield and Wladimir Klitschko.

Botha has slammed Parker for having the audacity to step up against him.

“The guy is stupid to go up against me,” Botha said.

“He must be a dumb kid. He's in for a rude awakening.

“After what happened against Sonny I don’t trust too many people in boxing so I'm not going to allow the fight against Parker to go to the judges.

“It's an eight rounder but I'll knock him out inside of the eight. It will be a quick fight. The kid is out of his depth and he'll know that in round one.”

Parker, who is signed to a long-term deal with Hydr8 Zero Explosion promoters Duco Events, refused to get into a verbal war with Botha.

“I respect the guy,” said Parker. “Botha has fashioned a great record for himself so I’m not going to fire back at him.

“Look, I know this is a big step up for me but it’s what I need. My previous wins have been against guys who I should beat. I’ve been challenged but not in the way that I need to be.

“This is a line in the sand type of fight. By the end of it, we will all know where I stand.

“In the meantime I know this fight will be won by whoever prepares the best. So that’s what I am focused on and right up until the end of the fight I only intend talking with my fists.”

Hydr8 Zero Explosion will be shown live on Sky Television’s Arena pay-per-view platform. Ticketing information and the rest of the card will be announced in the next few weeks.

EVENT DETAILS:

EVENT NAME: Hydr8 Zero Explosion

DATE: Thursday 13 June, 2013

LOCATION: AUCKLAND

BROADCAST: LIVE on SKY ARENA

Who is behind Hydr8 Zero Explosion?

EVENT PROMOTER: DUCO EVENTS

The “promoter” of Hydr8 Zero Explosion, is Duco Events which will financially underwrite Hydr8 Zero Explosion and will pay for the multi-million dollar expense of staging the event. In consideration for the risk, effort and expense, Duco Events will retain commercial revenue, including ticket sales, sponsorships and broadcast fees, and will retain any profits after all expenses are paid, with the exception of net fund raising proceeds which will accrue 100% to the charity recipient, KidsCan.

SPONSOR: HYDR8 ZERO

Hydr8 ZERO is a new electrolyte enhanced sports drink with ZERO sugar ZERO carbs. Formulated for both the professional or everyday recreational athlete striving for an edge in performance and recovery.

Hydr8 ZERO is packaged in attractive 650ml bottles and is available in 3 great flavours, Lemon & Lime, Blueberry and Wild Berry.

This new performance drink is owned and produced by VnC Cocktails Limited, a NZ company which was established in 2007. During this time VnC has developed a remarkable Ready to Drink Cocktail range using all natural ingredients and NZ made Vodka.

The company is the brainchild of Shane McKillen, a successful entrepreneur who was originally involved with the development of the 42BELOW brand of NZ Vodka. On selling his stake in 42 BELOW to Bacardi, Shane was looking for a new project and this new category was seen as an ideal opportunity. Since the company and brand launch, VnC Cocktails now has 8 different SKUs and has experienced strong sales growth both in New Zealand and global markets- Canada, USA, Europe, Asia and Australia.

Utilising the in-house innovation team and the existing VnC Cocktails manufacturing capabilities, Hydr8 ZERO was introduced to capitalise on the current social trend towards healthier sports beverages and will appeal to consumers seeking a great tasting, ZERO sugar, ZERO carbohydrate sports water.

Hydr8 ZERO is currently available in all Mad Butcher stores and will soon be launched into supermarkets. Z Petrol Stations and your local convenience store.

For more information, please visit:

www.myHydr8.com www.facebook.com/Hydr8Zero

FIGHTER BIOS

JOSEPH PARKER

The boy wonder will be on his biggest stage yet when he rumbles with Francois Botha. After a stellar amateur career - which included a gold medal at the 2011 Arafura Games in Darwin, a gold at the China Open and a silver at the 2010 Commonwealth Championships - the 21 year old phenom has signed a long term deal with Duco Events and his controlled by an all-star cast of advisors including personal trainer Lee Parore (of David Tua fame) and former middleweight world champ Maselino Masoe. Not one for hype – even though he is surrounded by it – he prefers to do his talking with his fists. And that's something the first four opponents of his pro career (Dean Garmonsway, Terry Tuteru, Richard Tutaki and Dontay Pati) can all attest too following first, second, third and first round KOs respectively. THE RECORD Won 4, Lost 0, Drawn 0.

FRANCOIS BOTHA

The man they call 'The White Buffalo' has fashioned a career as one of the heavyweight divisions most durable fighters. Francois Botha has been inside the ropes 61 times and has never sidestepped a challenge during his 23 years in the game. Indeed, he went undefeated in his first 35 fights a pro and has since been in with some of the biggest names in boxing including world champions Lennox Lewis, Mike Tyson, Michael Moorer, Shannon Briggs, Evander Holyfield and Wladimir Klitschko. In his last outing he was robbed of a possible victory against Sonny Bill Williams when the 12 round encounter was shortened to ten rounds - just as Botha was beginning to dominate the fight... Botha later claimed that he was offered $150,000 from Money Bill's manager Khoder Nasser to throw the fight - something he refused to do. Nasser countered by accusing Botha of falling a drugs test but, once back at his base in South Africa, Botha was able to produce a 'clean' test. He says he is looking forward to fighting under the Duco Events banner "because David Higgins and Dean Lonergan has class - they're the complete opposite of the SBW camp." THE RECORD Won 48, Lost 9, Drawn 2.

ENDS

© Scoop Media