According to South African media reports, former heavyweight contender Francois Botha will be returning to a boxing ring this week after a five-year absence. Botha is scheduled to face Australian-based journeyman Bob Mirovic, 28-18-2 on Friday in South Africa. Reportedly, Botha has passed his medical exams already. Botha defeated Axel Schulz in 1995 to seemingly claim the IBF heavyweight title by debatable decision, but after testing positive for steroids, Botha's name was removed from the list of champions.  His last boxing match was a 2002 draw against Clifford Etienne, a bout that left his pro record at 44-4-2 and he lost an MMA bout in 2004. Though he never seemed to be in great shape, Botha was involved in several entertaining fights, including a hard fought draw with Shannon Briggs and a loss to Mike Tyson that saw Botha outbox Tyson for nearly five rounds before getting knocked out by a Tyson combination. -Scott Shaffer