WBO lightweight champion Ricky Burns will start 2014 off with a bang when he faces unbeaten Yank Terrence Crawford 22-0, 16 KO’s at the SECC in Glasgow on March 1.
Burns had a tough year in 2013, with a ninth round stoppage win over Jose Gonzalez in May followed by a draw against Raymundo Beltran on a dramatic night in Glasgow in September, surviving a broken jaw and a knock down to set up a clash with the 26 year old mandatory challenger Crawford.
Burns is back in training after getting the all-clear from the doctors on his jaw, and the 30 year old is determined to kick 2014 off with a big performance to prove he’s a force to be reckoned with in the Lightweight division
“I have a point to prove,” said Burns. “I’ve had two bad performances, we’ve made a few changes and some adjustments, we’re going to be doing things differently, and fingers crossed that we see a new Ricky Burns on March 1.
“As soon as the jaw injury happened against Beltran I went into survival mode. Everybody knew that something was wrong, even if they didn’t know exactly what it was. When the final bell went I wasn’t caring about the decision, I just knew that I had done damage.”
