Ricky Burns

At 41 years old, Ricky Burns has this physical status:

Ricky Burns (born 13 April 1983) is a Scottish professional boxer from Coatbridge, Scotland.

He is one of only three British boxers to have won world titles in three weight divisions and the first from Scotland; and the WBO junior lightweight championship from 2012 to 2014; and the WBA super-lightweight championship from 2016 to 2017.

He competed for the British and European superfeatherweight titles from 2008 to 2009, as well as at national level.

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Professional career

Burns' first fight as a professional was a four-round victory over Woody Greenaway at the Kelvin Hall in Glasgow, Scotland, in October 2001. Following a string of seven victories over opponents, including Jeff Thomas, Ernie Smith, and Daniel Thorpe, he was matched against fellow unbeaten prospect Colin Bain on December 12, 2004. Burns won over the six round distance, resulting in Bain's first career defeat. Burns' victory sent him south to face British lightweight champion Graham Earl in a non-title match. When Earl fought Earl over eight rounds, he suffered one of the year's biggest upsets.

The win over Earl meant he'd get a shot at the big time in February 2006, when he took on reigning British, Commonwealth, and European champion Alex Arthur. Arthur retained on points as the show came to an end in defeat for Burns. Burns, a 12-fight novice on this stage, lost the fight to Arthur, who was lauded by the king, who was preparing for the fight." Burns himself denied being dissatisfied with the loss, adding that: "I don't think that is a loss." I'm just 22 years old, and it was a wonderful learning experience for me."

Burns next had a crack at the British title just a year after he met reigning champion Carl Johanneson at the Town Hall in Leeds in February 2007. Burns was defeated in a 12-round tie to the experienced champion, bringing the fight to a conclusion. Johanneson intended on winning before his home crowd booed Burns throughout the game and managed to knock Burns down three times.

Burns left his old boxing club in the hopes of a new challenge following the loss to Johanneson. Burns had been with Rab Bannan at the Barn Boxing Club for more than 14 years, but the Johanneson loss sparked a change of direction. Burns, a former teacher, described it as "a traumatic experience" to tell him. It was really sad because I've been with him for 14 years. This is the bulk of my boxing experience. It was really difficult, but we were on good terms and we shook hands, and I'm sure our paths will cross again." Burns travelled to Glasgow's Dalmarnock gym, where he could train with Willie Limond and Kenny Anderson.

Burns has won eight fights in a row since being defeated in the MMA with Johanneson. At the Thistle Hotel in Glasgow, he defeated Romanian Gheorghe Ghiompirica and was awarded the lightly regarded British International Masters belt. In addition, Burns sparred with former adversar Alex Arthur in preparations for Arthur's WBO super-featherweight title defense against Nicky Cook.

Burns was in contention for a crack at the vacant Commonwealth title in September 2008, a belt which had been given to Londoner Kevin Mitchell in September 2008. Burns beat the Ghanaian Osumana Akaba by 12 rounds during the contest at the York Hall in Bethnal Green. Burns was pushed into the championship frame after the original main event on the card had been postponed for just weeks. Burns wrote about his aspirations in the future; "There is only one battle I want at the moment." Kevin Mitchell, the current British champion, will face him in a match. He was hospitalized recently and will not be back until December, so we'll have to wait and see what happens."

Burns defended his crown at Kelvin Hall in Glasgow, just shy of facing another Ghanaian, Yakubu Amidu. The African fighter had a record of 16–1–1, with all his victories coming by way of stoppage. Burns, on the other hand, was too much, and his high fitness levels showed when the referee called the match in the seventh round, giving the Scotsman a win. Burns' second defense took place in March 2009, with Burns halting former British champion Michael Gomez in the seventh round. Burns won in a close 12 round victory over Kevin O'Hara of Northern Ireland on June 20, 2009, with the support of the extremely experienced trainer Billy Nelson and his Fighting Scots Gym in Stepps. Ricky was Billy's first world champion.

Burns' success in the ring had boosted him to the top of the WBO's rankings. Frank Warren, the Burns' manager, attempted to broker a match against Roman Martnez, the reigning champion. The Puerto Rican champion's match had been delayed several times, with Scot and Puerto Rico battling for different dates but no one was able to show up and for Martinez to make a voluntary defense of his title instead. Burns' expected British championship match against Gary Sykes never happened with Sykes winning the title over Burns replacement Andy Morris and fighting back against Burns' Kevin O'Hara, the man Burns had defeated in his last Commonwealth championship defense Kevin O'Hara. Burns re-entered the arena on May 15, 2010 on the undercard of Kevin Mitchell's world championship shot against Michael Katsidis at the Boleyn Ground, finally ending a year of agony. Burns won by an eight-round victory over journeyman and former rival Youssef Al Hamidi, who kept his winning streak alive and ticking over. Burns said after the war that he wished the fight with Román Martinez would happen around July and that it would take place in Glasgow.

Burns and Roman Martinez' WBO super-featherweight title showdown was eventually announced on June 24, 2010, and it was scheduled to take place at the Kelvin Hall in Glasgow on September 4th. "This has been dragging on a bit, but I'm more positive that I will beat him," Burns said at the unveiling of his fight. Burns finally took on David Martinez, the unbeaten reigning world champion, at Kelvin Hall on September 4th. Martinez had been winning it for more than a year from Englishman Nicky Cook and defending twice against Colombian Feider Viloria and Argentinian Gonzalo Munguia. Burns fought back to the champion in the first round after being knocked down in the first round, defeating Martinez for the first time and then winning the world championship.

"This was the best night I've ever had in Scotland," Burns promoter Frank Warren said, as well as bringing Nigel Benn and Frank Bruno up here." Burns, who had won the title and becoming Scotland's 12th world champion, was described as "electric" by the crowd, who went on to praise him, saying that Scotland had a new "sporting hero" and that the victory would lead to a revival of Scottish boxing. It was also found that before the fight, Celtic boss Neil Lennon had wished Burns the best and sent him a Celtic strip signed by the entire team as a good luck presenter.

Burns defended his title against Norwegian boxer Andreas Evensen, who was the WBO InterContinental featherweight champion, for the first time on December 4, 2010. The match, which took place at Glasgow's Braehead Arena, resulted in Burns' second unanimous points victory, despite the Scotsman's knockdown in the first round.

Burns made his second defense at the Braehead Arena on March 12, 2011. Joseph Laryea, the Ghanaian boxer, had won the WBO InterContinental Championships, defeating Scot Paul Appleby and winning the WBO Intercontinental Championship, the same night Burns defeated Evenson. With Burns advancing, the contest was called off in the 7th round after Laryeea cited a cracked knuckle.

Burns' next defense was scheduled for July 16, 2011, against former WBO champion Nicky Cook in Liverpool's Echo Arena. As Cook's corner threw in the towel after a back injury, the combat resulted in a 93-second stoppage for Burns. Cook was issued a number and warned of back pain after only six seconds a punch from Burns. Cook was sent to the canvas twice more before his corner resigned the boxer, who said he wanted to face Mzonke Fana next.

Burns was the next scheduled opponent of a mandatory challenger, and Boxrec No. 92 was no. Adrien Broner, the 1st rated superfan, but he revealed on September 22, 2011 that he would quit his WBO superfeatherweight title and move up to lightweight competition. Burns said that moving a weight division would ease the pressure of trying to control his weight. "It was getting harder and harder for me to do it." Adrien Broner weighed in on the situation, saying, "You vacated the term mentioning that you couldn't make weight no more." "You only fought four times and defended this title," Broner said, "But everyone knows boxing is a game in which you can duck fighters," he said, "and I guess running away was the right idea for his future."

Burns will face Australian Michael Katsidis in London for the WBO interim lightweight title in his first fight at the weight. "I don't think they should have given me a harder fight if they tried," Burns said of the fight, "I don't think they should have made it a harder fight," he said, "I don't think they should have made me a harder fight if they tried." He's been in with the best of the weight, he's been active in the competition, and it's a great opportunity to get out there and see what I can do Burns faced Katsidis for the WBO interim lightweight championship on November 5, 2011, and despite being the slight underdog, the underdog went on to win the match by unanimous vote. Burns said to have "proved a lot of people wrong" because some people "thought Michael would walk all over me." "Michael didn't give me a minute, he kept coming forward but I was ready for that." I'm doing my job and that's the way I always look at it."

After former champion Juan Manuel Márquez jumped up a division to welterweight, Burns was crowned WBO lightweight champion on January 26, 2012. Against Namibian fighter Paulus Moses, Ricky defended his WBO lightweight title against Namibian fighter Paulus Moses. With the game being held in Braehead Arena, Glasgow, he will have the homefield advantage. "It's great news about the title, but it's back to reality and preparation hard for what promises to be a tough title defense against Moses in my homecoming in Scotland." I've been grafting in my career for the past ten years. But in the last two years, it has really taken off with me defeating Roman Martinez and then defeating a legendary hero like Katsidis, placing me among the world's best athletes." Ricky would win by unanimous points over his title, with Moses outboxed by Ricky, who was praised 99–110,110–111 by the three judges, who was awarded victory by 119–111–111.

Burns' next fight will be another in defense of his WBO lightweight champion Kevin Mitchell on September 22, 2012, after months of talks. Burns, a sold out Scottish Exhibition and Conference Centre, put on a career-best showing to beat Mitchell by TKO in the fourth round. Burns came out as the bigger guy on fight night, and he seemed to be gaining power of the game by the 4th round outboxing Mitchell, who was knocking Mitchell down twice in round four. a little later in the game's last minute, a referee called for the referee to call the fight. Burns was able to make a convincing claim to being the best at 135 pounds after such a strong show.

Burns was supposed to defend his WBO lightweight title against Liam Walsh at the ExCeL, London, on December 15, 2012. Walsh was later involved in a car accident and was forced to pull out. Jose Ocaso was named as Walsh's replacement. Due to the death of his trainer, Ocasio was forced to cancel. Burns' announcement that he would not be competing in London on the date because he didn't have one in time. Burns, a promoter, who was unable to find an opponent on a postponed date of 26 January 2013, turned to a long break between fights.

Burns and Miguel Vázquez's unification war was postponed until March 20, 2013 because Vazquez was suffering from a viral infection. Burns would defend his WBO title while also fighting for Valiantz' IBF title. The Vainquez fight was also called off, with Burns boss Alex Morrison telling The Scot "I doubt very much that this was going to happen," leading to the announcement on 7 March 2013 that Burns had left Frank Warren's promotion stable.

Burns had joined Eddie Hearn's Matchroom promotions and fought for the first time under Matchroom rules on 11 May 2013, when he faced Puerto Rican Jose Gonzalez at the Emirates Arena in Glasgow, a fight broadcast on Sky Sports. Burns won the ninth round after being outboxed in the first six rounds, but the match took a dramatic turn in round 7, where Burns was injured before firing back in true championship fashion. Despite being 87-84 ahead on all three lines, Gonzalez refused to appear in the tenth round due to a bruised wrist for pulling out of the match.

Burns' promoter Eddie Hearn announced that the Burns would battle against Ray Beltrán of Mexico on September 7th. In the 8th round, Burns was knocked out. Beltran was favored in the vast majority of observers, but the decision was seen as one of the worst decisions of 2013. Burns retained his WBO lightweight title despite the draw. Burns had broken his jaw early in the second round, according to the report.

Burns were uncertain when and if they would return to action again after recovery, but Burns expressed concern in a rematch with Beltran after the day's. However, the WBO crowned Terence Crawford as Burns' most important challenger, and the match took place in Scotland on March 1, 2014. Crawford won the WBO lightweight title by unanimous vote, boxing well on the outside and picking his spots. Burns has made a hefty £500,000 for his fight.

At the Braehead Arena in Glasgow on June 27, 2014 Burns defeated Dejan Zlatianin. It was a eliminator war and a national championship match. This was Burns' second straight loss in the match to Zlaticanin on split decision points.

Burns promoter Eddie Hearn revealed on July 4, 2014 that he would fight in a move to the light-welterweight division after losing to Zlatianin on June 27th. The fight was originally scheduled for September 4th, 2014 in Leeds, giving Burns a break from fighting in Scotland but the Zlaticanin war was postponed due to elbow injury burns. On his light-welterweight debut on October 4, Burns defeated French journeyman Alexandre Lepelley by a point.

Burns took on undefeated former WBC lightweight champion Omar Figueroa Jr. in his US debut on May 9, 2015 in Hidalgo, Texas. Both men and women's punches were overshadowed by disgraceful refereeing as 2 points were deducted from Burns for holding and for regularly moving both boxers hands whilst they were in a dominant position within the clinch. Burns lost a close contest after the Texas judge awarded the primary fight to the home fighter. The first judge gave the score 116-110, and the third had it 117-109.

Burns won two straight fights, firstly with a TKO victory over Prince Ofotsu on August 1stu, followed by a KO victory over Josh King in Liverpool on November 7, 2015.

Burns would face Michele di Rocco, an Italian boxer, in a vacant WBA light-welterweight crown at the SSE Hydro in Glasgow on March 15, 2016. Adrien Broner failed to gain weight in his previous fight and was eventually suspended, leaving the position vacant. Burns ruled from start to finish with his jab and right cross, knocking his opponent down on the third level and stopping him in the eighth in front of a packed audience. Burns became the first Scot to win this championship, as well as the first British fighter to win this feat.

Burns was ordered to protect his world title against Belarus's Inter-Continental champion Kiryl Relikh (21-0, 19 KOs). The official announcement was made by The SSE Hydro in Glasgow, Glasgow, on the date of 7 October. Burns, who started the first couple of rounds slowly, used his knowledge and extended the game to 12 rounds. Burns continued to fire some shots that seemed to be shaking him for a few seconds as he continued and demonstrated that he is a master of pacing 12 round fights. Relikh moved to and from the southpaw role, which reduced the distance, so Burns needed good circulation. The three judges rated the contest at 116-112 twice and a relatively wide 118-110 at the end of the contest. The wide scoring was unfair, according to several pundits ringside, including Relikh's manager Hatton, due to the fact that there was always back and forth action. With Burns keeping the world title, a fight against former champion Adrien Broner, likely in the United States, was set in December.

There were talks in late December for a potential war between Burns and the IBF, as well as IBO champion Julius Indongo (21-0, 11 KOs). Indongo obtained the two titles after knocking out then undefeated Eduard Troyanovsky in less than a minute on December 3rd. Burns, Freddie Roach's son, was named a potential target for Filipino legend Manny Pacquiao's 28th birthday in January 2017. Burns boss Tommy Morrison confirmed on Monday that a contract was being negotiated for Burns to face Indongo in a unification fight in Glasgow, which was scheduled on 9 January. Burns and Indongo entered an agreement on January 11th in a unification championship match, which was announced on January 11th. The WBA, IBF, and IBO championships will be in play. This was Scotland's first unification war. Burns lost out on becoming Scotland's first united world champion after losing a wide majority of 120-108, 118-110, and 116-112. Burns struck the canvas three times in the last two rounds, but they were dismissed as a slip. Burns praised Indongo after losing, "He was just so awkward." He was a lot better than we expected he would be. He'll be able to hit as well." He also stated that he would not resign if he was unable to retire.

Burns and fellow Brit Anthony Crolla (36-3, 13 KOs) discussed a potential all-British war on July 7, 2017, according to STV news. At light-welterweight, a fight is expected to take place in Manchester or Glasgow. A provisional date of October 14, 2017 was being considered. Both boxers announced their involvement in the fight a day earlier. When he first heard about the rumors, Burns told Sky Sports that he committed straight away. Both he and Crolla were in the same situation, suffering from losses, according to him. Josh Taylor, Burn's compatriot, had been calling him out for an all Scottish showdown at the time. Crolla said that the match would be a'make or break' fight for both of them, and that it could force the beaten boxer into retirement, whereas the victor could line himself up for another world championship fight. Eddie Hearn announced on August 7th that a deal had been struck between Crolla and Burns for a fight that would take place at lightweight on October 7th, live on Sky Sports. Manchester Arena had been named as the venue for the first time Burns will perform in Manchester. "It's a war between two great warriors," Hearn said on Sky Sports about the war. Both Anthony and Ricky are employed in similar positions in life, and they know that it is a must-win. Knowing that these two guys do this is going to be a fight until the final bell, with neither of them taking a backward step. It's an all-British superfight between two defending [former] world champions." Crolla prevailed in the 12 round unanimous decision. The fight was 116-113, 117-112, 116-114, at the end. At ringside, Sky pundits had either Crolla winning or a draw, but no one thought Burns had done enough to warrant a win. Crolla was the busier fighter on record, throwing more than Burns and focusing on a number of his body shots. Burns made Crolla miss a lot with his walking and seemed to land cleaner and precise punches. Both fighters accepted in the end because they had demonstrated mutual admiration for one another in the build-up. "I hope I did enough," Crolla said in the article contest. He just kept coming; he gave me a helluful fight, but I hope my quality shots won it." "I thought I did enough to win the fight," Burns said. I believed I had shot the cleaners. I just edged it in my eyes," I said. Crolla also stated that he would be able to fly to Glasgow for a match.

Burns' 50th professional fight was scheduled to take place at the Metro Radio Arena in Newcastle on Friday, a card co-headlined by Josh Kelly and Lewis Ritson. It was the first time Burns had fought in Newcastle. Burns retired his Croatian opponent Ivan Njegac after round 4, defeating him in a scheduled 6-round match. Burns said he planned to keep boxing going into the war.

Burns stepped in on November 3rd to replace Joe Cordina and face Scott Cardle (23-2-1, 7 KOs), only one week notice. After suffering from an injury, Cordina withdrew from the match. Burns was supposed to appear on a Matchroom USA card in Kansas, USA, on November 17th. Burns dominated, but Cardle was then knocked out in round 3 to continue his comeback in 2018. Cardle was put to the canvas by a right hand. Cardle was able to beat the count, but referee Mark Lyson called a halt to the proceedings at 2:06 of round 3. Despite that Burns did not call anyone out in the pro prost-fight interview, he said he was after big fights in 2019.

Burns met Lee Selby, the former world champion, on October 26, 2019. Selby managed to defeat Burns by majority vote, winning 116-112 and 116-113 on two of the scorecards, while the third judge gave the contest a draw, 115-115.

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