My feature on Ricky Burns

theuppercut · May 24, 2009

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A seperate piece on Burns has been sent to the Boxing News, hopefully to be published.

Cheers

Shaun Brown

Ricky Burns: “Getting a world title shot would be ideal because I’m ready for it”

Ricky Burns
By Shaun Brown

In boxing, defeats can either finish you or make a man out of you. For current Commonwealth Super-Featherweight champion Ricky Burns the two defeats he’s suffered in his career has spurred him on to a possible world title shot later this year.
With a string of victories under his belt and with a top five ranking with the WBO a world title shot looms on the horizon for the Scotsman.

The door is open in Scotland for a fighter to take the reins and lead the way. Burns can be that fighter if he keeps his eleven fight winning streak up next month when he defends his title against Northern Ireland’s Kevin O’Hara.
“Boxing is a way of life for me”, said Burns when I recently interviewed him at the Fighting Scots gym in. “I was twelve when I started boxing at the Barn club in Coatbridge. I went in with some friends and started messing about as kids do. As time went on I was the only one that stuck at it”, he said.

Fast forward fourteen years and Burns feels that the time is right to move on to the next level. “At this time getting a world title shot would be ideal because I’m ready for it. If it is going to be Kevin Mitchell (who could be fighting Roman Martinez for WBO super-featherweight title in September) it’ll be a cracking fight. I watched him when he fought Carl Johanneson and he showed a lot of grit that night. I wish Kevin all the best if he gets the Martinez fight. I’ve met him before and he’s a genuinely nice guy but all that will go out the window if we meet in the ring. He’s a big hitter as his record suggests but you’ll be lucky if I get a black eye in a fight because I’m so elusive”.
Once described by Marvin Hagler as “one of the best prospects he’s ever seen” when Ricky was nineteen, he has now added more aggression and power to his work which was evident in his last fight against Manchester’s Michael Gomez. Prior to the fight the wild and charismatic Gomez predictably stirred things up by getting in Burns’s face. All this ensured that come the night of the fight the Bellahouston Sports Centre in Glasgow would be packed out. Burns controlled the fight and whilst Gomez was a shadow of his former self (look for his fight with Alex Arthur) the job was carried out professionally and efficiently. The fight was stopped in the seventh round with Gomez taking an assortment of punishing punches from the increasingly aggressive Burns.

“People can see the progress I’ve made under my new trainer (Billy Nelson). The change has done me good. I used to box on the back foot all the time. But if you want to win titles you can’t rely on that you have to start going forward”.

So just like his change in style his career is also moving forward. If 2009 does not produce a world title shot it may produce a shot at a vacated British title should current champion Kevin Mitchell get his shot at Martinez. This would represent a third shot at the British title for Burns after his two previous attempts ended in defeat to Alex Arthur and Carl Johanneson. “When I boxed Alex I didn’t think, in my head, that I could beat him. It was my first twelve rounder and I’d only went as far as eight rounder previously. It was the last four rounds of the Arthur fight that let me down. If a fight like that happened now it would be a different outcome. There was problems before the Johanneson fight. The day of that fight I never ate one thing. I walked into the ring at nine stone seven pounds. Usually I can put on a lot more weight. With that fight I walked in with the attitude that I wanted the fight to be over. I had a good crowd coming down from Scotland and I didn’t want to let anyone down. That wasn’t me at all in the ring that night”.

So with those two defeats has come invaluable experience for Ricky Burns. If he keeps winning and winning in style a world title shot will be a certainty within the next twelve months. Future opponents should be warned. No longer is Burns boxing on the back foot to a comfortable points decision. He’s now looking to get you out of there as soon as possible.

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Dunky McCafferty · May 24, 2009

An interesting read!
Only thing i didnt agre with thouhg was you saying Gomez "was a shadow of the man who beat Arthur"
The Gomez who beat Arthur was never up to much in the first place, all you have to do is look at his life & death struggles with Lazlo Bognar, a fighter who arthur disposed of easily.
Michael gomez was just a one hit wonder really, he got a shock win over Arthur, & thats about it.
It happens in boxing sometimes, look at Buster Douglas.

billy nelson · May 24, 2009

dunky thats very unfair on gomez saying his win over alex was aone hit wonder,he fought a very good fight that night and had alex down 2,3,or 4 times,so imo your statement doesn't make sense.

brown bomber · May 25, 2009

dunky- idiotic statement

theuppercut · May 25, 2009

Longcount said: ↑

Please do not embed links to other boxing sites. I edited your initial post and pasted in your blog entry.
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Sorry about that. Wont happen again.

Tony Bellew · May 25, 2009

Good fighter is Burns!! Some interesting times ahead for him!! I feel he'll light up Scottish boxing again for a while!!:good

HairyHighlander · May 25, 2009

Nice piece U.C. :thumbsup

Keep em coming :good

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