Ricky Burns vs Miguel Vasquez: Breakdown The Keys to Battle

I've not got time to go into much detail here Skills,but my initial thoughts are that Ricky might have a similar problem to the one JMM has when he fights guys that don't fight on the front foot.
Like I said last night,Vasquez is so unorthodox that it almost looks like he lacks technique,but he pulls it off and there are punches coming from the least likely angles.
He also looks like he throws arm punches,but there's power in them there fists.

 

How i see it going is Burns coming forward with vazquez poppin him with the jab while backing up and laterally, after vasquez lands with anything half decent he'll hold and spoil, when there tied up burns will land some crappy looking hooks cos he cant do out else from that position (no disrespect to burns,its hard to throw punches when someones hugging you)

this pattern will continue and the fight will be abit of a snoozer where i see vasquez landing all the better punches but his tactics will earn him the wrath of the judges and i expect him to lose to Burns by decision.

i expect a robbery which will split the viewers, some will say vasquez deserved it, some will say all he did was hold...dunno why but thats just how i see it goin.

 

If Ricky doesnt pop his jab and get it going early Vasquezs uppercuts could be very problematic for Burns. If he does get it going and doubles, triples it up he will have a very good chance of taking a decent points decision. If he is gona be pushed back he cant do it in straight lines. He needs to mix his movement up.

 

I think Vasquez may box of the back foot and using lateral movement to to try a force Burns to over reach with his jab, this will help gave him opportunities to counter. He will also every now again try to come in at angles and back to the outside.

Burns may struggle being forced to be the aggressor, but needs to be patient and faint the jab and try to force Vasquez to react and then jab and follow up with head and body combos. The lateral movement of Vasquez will be tricky but Burns will need to cut the ring of somewhat an make sure Vasquez is in line with his offence.

 

Pretty much same as what has been said- I think Burns' jab is the key, he hold a decent advantage in this area and he gets that working then he can win a close but comfortable decision. Both fighters are very good at frustrating their opponent from the back foot so it's important Burns is patient, gains dominance with the jab and forces Vasquez to come forward where he is out his comfort zone. I do think Burns could win on the front foot also with his work rate but I think it's a much closer/riskier fight with that game plan.......But I thought that with Mitchell too so what do I know.

 

Haven't seen too much of Vasquez, he is not the easiest to watch usually and I turned off his last fight after a few rounds. From what I have seen, the key to the fight will be the battle of the jabs. I think it very likely that Vasquez will get his working early and often and so mostly it is a case of whether Ricky can establish his own jab/double jab to setup combinations.

As of right now, I see it being a very difficult night for Ricky, but he has been underestimated before and come through big so hopefully he can again.

 

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The jab is definitely the key for Burns, actually establishing the jab is pretty key for either man. With Vazquez, he pops his jab out but he doesn't throw it with any authority from what I have seen of him, it's more like a range finder, he pops it out into his opponents face just enough to back them up for a split second and confuse them then he looks to wade forward with a right hand or a left hook, often to the body.

If Burns can keep his jab in his face all night and not let Vazquez get comfortable or give him enough time to think about what he is doing he could get the better of him, especially in the early rounds. I've also noticed that Vazquez sometimes rushes in and throws wild hook which leaves him open to the upper cut, his feet are often planted very wide when he throws his big left hooks to the body too which means he's even more open to a swift, short right uppercut.

Vazquez is unorthodox though with his footwork and if Ricky can't get his jab landing hard enough or accurately enough to put him off or keep him off then Vazquez will come forward at strange angles and throw unpredictable shots. To win Ricky is going to have to be able to work Vazquez out while he is in the ring and look to get the right hand landing at the times when he leaves himself open coming in and throw some uppercuts too.

He can't just afford to cover up on the ropes and bounces around the ring like he did against Katsidis who just plodded forward punching gloves and arms all night. He's going to have to attack intelligently and land his power shots a the right times, getting the right hand over the top into play.

 

I never get that impression when i'm watching Vazquez. I don't know, maybe we have a different definition of 'unorthodox' or 'lacking technique'.

I see a guy who does the basics really well and actually has VERY sound technique, it's his major strength, imo. I see a guy who always circles well, establishes his jab, who gets off first on his opponents, who punches on the move and smothers you up close.

 

Don't you think that he throws some very unusual looking punches though that would look almost novice-like at times?
I'm not saying they are(far from it) but it certainly works for him.It's not textbook stuff if you get what I mean?

 

Vazquez will not be a stationary target and I feel Burns may have to force the fight at times.

Vazquez has good movement and is a very good technical fighter. Not pleasing to watch but I believe he is beatable.

Burns by close but clear decision.

 

He does like to tie up when he gets in close and is good at landing sneaky shots inside with his long arms. I do think he looks like he lacks some technique as well as he often seems to just wail lots of punches on opponents when he gets in range instead of thought out crisp combinations, a bit like Calzaghe used to sometimes if that makes sense.

Also, he leads with odd punches, sometimes he leads with over hand rights and upper cuts, it's hard to pin his style down or predict what he is going to do as he doesn't seem to know himself some of the time. I think Burns extra speed could be the key, both of them have good engines and it could come down to who is still throwing accurately in the championship rounds, and Vazquez seems to get a bit ragged as fights progress whereas Ricky always seems relatively fresh.