What Mayweather, Haye, Klitschko(s) and others can learn from Ricky Burn’s win over Roman Martinez
September 5th, 2010
By Gary Brownlie: On Saturday night a man from Coatbridge Ricky Burns (29-2, 7 KO’s) turned in the performance of a lifetime, defeated an undefeated world champion and claimed the WBO Super-featherweight world title. To say the least, his performance showed heart, determination and talent. Here was a man, written off by the pundits and experts but still confident and willing to go into the ring against the undefeated Puerto Rican, Roman “Rocky” Martinez (24-1-1, 15 KO’s). The first round belonged to the champion, with a flash knock down. The disappointment was written all over Ricky’s face as he fell back against the ropes, caught flat footed with a straight right. It was a lesson learned for the man from Coatbridge.
There have been a few negative articles written about this fight, as though Ricky doesn’t deserve his title of being World Champion but doesn’t this fight represent everything we love about boxing? A man from relative obscurity rising up to beat the odds and defeat the undefeated world champion. Its a Hollywood script played out in real life before our eyes. Debating whether or not Ricky Burns is going to be a great champion of the Super-Feather Weight division is pointless, what is important is that on Saturday 4th of September 2010 Ricky Burns became the WBO super featherweight world champion. Only praise should be given to both fighters for the way they fought, putting it all on the line for the world title.
Other fighters should take note of how both conducted themselves, the champion who was willing to travel far from home to defend his title and the challenger who was unwilling to give up on his dream. If only the likes of Floyd Mayweather, David Haye, Vitali/Wladimir Klitschko, Andre Dirrell & Andre Ward had half the heart of either of these two fighters then boxing would be in a much better state than what it is in. I understand that boxing is a balance between business and entertainment but at some point the fighters have to understand that it is not just a business.
Tags: Burns vs. Martinez, Burns-Martinez ,David Haye, Floyd Mayweather Jr, Ricky Burns, Roman Karmazin, Roman Martinez, Vitali Klitschko, Wladimir Klitschko17 Responses to “What Mayweather, Haye, Klitschko(s) and others can learn from Ricky Burn’s win over Roman Martinez”
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DAVE BOY,how can you possibly say after a career best performance Ricky should change his trainer ( which i happen to be)seriously mate your statement is crazy and theres no logic behind it.oh well if it wasn’t for people like you who know nothing and think they do there wouldn’t be forums like this.
ricky burns won all but 2 or 3 rounds against an unbeaten champion and hurt him on numerous occasions all this after suffering a flash knockdown in the first round ,,unanimous decision,,and the NEWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWW….WHAT MORE CAN B SAID
Way to go Ricky Burns…….class fighter.
Nel if u only thought it was a good fight to watch i love to know what u think is a great fight because at the end of the year it will be up there as one of the fights of the year.
@ Bob and Ignorant article
I believe the writer was refering to Dirrell and Wards dispute over a venue and purse split, not their heart and willingness to take on all comers. Not really anti American if you ask me!
BEFORE THE FIGHT NO ARTICLES NOW WE HAVE SOME ABOUT THIS FIGHT BETWEEN MARTINEZ VS BURNS WHY IS THAT?
THE TRUTH IS MARTINEZ WAS PUNCH LOCK AFTER HE KNOCK DOWN BURNS BUT IT WAS A GOOD FIGHT TO WATCH.
now ricky is champ in order 4 him improve he needs 2 get himself a top trainer the trainers hez got hav took him as far as they can like 2 hear ur veiws
Great fight. Great Aritcle. Please keep writing on this site.
No, this article isn’t ignorant, it’s just that the author is paying homage to the heart of the under dog!
The writer isn’t “an America hater”, as you so artfully put it, there are many types of boxers mentioned in this article and are from a variety of nations. As Martinez himself is Puerto Rican, how can the author be labeled as xenophobic? LOL!
Fight of the year so far
This article is ignorant. The author is obviously an America hater. Hey bud… eat it. You suck.
Ricky burns, I always wanted you to win but my brain told me otherwise. Fantastic performance, he hurt you a few times throughout the fight which you came through like a champion but apart from that the fight was preety one sided and you made him look stupid throughout. Best fight I’ve seen since mosely, excellent.
Brilliant article, great point made.
A loud mouth can help a fighter some but not win a fight. A fighter might just use his mouth to cover-up his fear. Even the great Ali had his fears but nevertheless faced them all. Some fighters just can’t take a loss because the simply have said too much too soon.
I agree.
Boxing is more than just a business and its annoying when you hear people voice the opposite cliche.
But Boxing business and a fighters pride and heart can be interwoven, and protecting a record is vital to these fighters at the top as you know.
Mayweather, Pacquiao, Haye and Vlad all have the heart of Ricky Burns, its ludicrous to say they dont because they are some of the apex fighters around today and possess more skill/heart/talent than Burns ever will – Im not taking anything away from Ricky, he did a great job.
Fighters in the public eye making millions (more than Martinez and Burns) like Mayweather are ultra cautious and i cant blame them, they want to retain and make as much money as possible and when they can pick easier fights and make decent money…you can understand it, im not saying its right, it isnt but i can understand it.
BUT…
Those fighters (Haye, Pac, Floyd and Vlad) didnt get to the top being cowards and having no heart, they werent born superstars and had to work to get their, so they can provide the heart when needed.
Why can’t U.S. fans watch exciting matches like this on national TV? It’s like living in a “Big Brother” dictatorship when it comes to viewing boxing in this country. A few wealthy promoters and networks decide what the fans should/can see and what they can’t. It’s killing the sport.
How do Andre Ward and Dirrell not have heart? Those two are competing in the super six tournament – willingly fighting the best of the best in their division. Surely there are other boxers out there that you could have singled out. As for Vitali and Wlad, it is really their faults that they destroy everyone they fight against. The Haye thing, well you’re right about that I suppose.
Much better article than the earlier one on this fight. Ricky Burns showed great maturity in the ring. Well done son.