Williams seemed to be outfoxed by wily veteran Botha and looked out on his feet towards the end of the contest, but emerged with a 97-91 (twice), 98-94 victory on the three cards.
Amazingly, referee Tony Kettlewell called the tenth round the last of a scheduled WBA International title twelve-rounder, overshadowing the decision, as Williams looked ripe for knockout by the South African.
Former multi-time world title challenger Botha, 44, can feel hard done by on all sides as Williams, even with a points deduction for holding, moves to 6-0 with three stoppages and ‘The White Buffalo’ drops to 48-9-3.
