SHOWTIME to Replay Botha Vs. Briggs on Saturday, August 14 at 11:15 PM ET/PT.

ATLANTIC CITY, NJ--(BW SportsWire)--Aug. 7, 1999--

The career crossroads fight pitting former International Boxing Federation (IBF) Heavyweight Champion Francois Botha against World Boxing Council (WBC) No. 7 contender Shannon Briggs will be replayed on SHOWTIME on Saturday, August 14th at 11:15 PM ET/PT, it was announced today.

Botha vs. Briggs was held on Saturday, August 7th at Trump Taj Mahal Casino Resort in Atlantic City, NJ.

Television viewers around the world, via pay per view and closed circuit, saw a gutty and fearless performance from Botha as he had to settle for a 10-round majority draw against Briggs in front of a sold-out crowd of 5,150 at the Mark G. Etess Arena.

Botha vs. Briggs was part of an evening that featured two exciting undercard bouts -- Marco Antonio Barrera (48-2, 35 KOs) of Iztzcalco, Mexico defending his World Boxing Organization (WBO) junior featherweight championship with a unanimous victory over Argentina's Pastor Maurin (41-2, 23 KOs); and up-and-coming super middleweight Omar Sheika (19-1) of Paterson, NJ posting an eighth round TKO over the more experienced Kevin Pompey (32-15-3, 12 KOs) of Troy, NY.

Referee Tony Orlando stopped the Sheika-Pompey fight at 2:16 of the eighth round as Sheika was scoring with repeated punches. Pompey was upset with Orlando's decision to stop the fight as he felt that he was not hurt and could continue. Sheika was ahead on all three judges' scorecards -- 67-64, 67-65 and 68-63.

Barrera had a tougher time than he anticipated against the scrappy Maurin. Maurin sent Barrera to the canvas in the seventh round, however it had little affect on his game plan or the judges scorecards as all three favored the champion -- Judge Harry Davis of Toronto, Canada saw it 120-108, John Poturaj of Newark, NJ and Roberto Ramirez of San Juan, PR had it 119-109.

Briggs, long hailed as one of the most talented boxers in the heavyweight division, failed to live up to his reputation in the main event, as the game Botha kept coming after the taller fighter. Botha, a former world champion from Witbank, South Africa, saw his record go to 39-2-1 with 24 KOs. The Brooklyn, NY Briggs record stands at 31-2-1 with 25 KOs. Judge Joe Pasquale of Atlantic City, NJ had Botha on top, 95-92. Henry Grant of Plainfield, NJ and John Stewart of Lawnside, NJ each scored the fight 94-94.

Botha vs. Briggs, a pay-per-view telecast from SET Pay Per View in association with Donald J. Trump, promoted by Dillon Productions/Frank Warren, was part of a featured fight card from Trump Taj Mahal Resort Casino in Atlantic City, NJ. The delayed broadcast will also be featured on SHOWTIME En Espanol, a separate Spanish-language audio feed, in certain systems.

SHOWTIME CHAMPIONSHIP BOXING is executive produced by Jay Larkin, produced by David Dinkins Jr. and directed by Bob Dunphy. For Botha vs. Briggs, Steve Albert handled the blow-by-blow action with color commentary from the "Fight Doctor" Ferdie Pacheco and expert analysis from two-time world champion Bobby Czyz. Jim Gray handled roving reporter duties, and Jimmy Lennon, Jr. announced the fight from the ring.