By Scott Gilfoid: Former WBO super featherweight champion Adrien Broner (24-0, 20 KO’s) expects WBO lightweight champion Ricky Burns (34-2, 9 KO’s) to move up to the light welterweight division now that Broner is moving up and has been promised the #1 ranking by the World Boxing Organization. Broner sees Burns vacating his title rather than risking a fight against him.
Broner told Fighthype.com “I was supposed to fight Ricky Burns [at super featherweight]. He went up. Now that I’m at his weight [lightweight], I think he’s going to 40 [140 lbs] now.”
Gosh, I hope Broner is wrong about this because I’d hate to see Burns move up in weight for a second time just when Broner is on the verge of finally getting a fight against him. Broner was hoping to get a fight against Burns last year when Burns was the WBO super featherweight champion. But just when Broner was ready to get the fight, Burns vacated the WBO super featherweight title and moved up in weight to the lightweight division. Burns picked up the WBO lightweight outside of the ring after the WBO stripped champion Juan Manuel Marquez and gave the strap to Burns.
Since getting the WBO title, Burns has defended it once against 34-year-old Paulus Moses in a 12 round unanimous decision last March. That wasn’t an impressive performance from Burns because he spent a lot of time clinching and trapping Moses’ arms to keep him from punching.
It’s going to be interesting to see if Burns does a repeat and vacates his WBO title now that Broner is ready to fight him again. I’d like to imagine that Burns will face Broner this time, but future events cast their shadows before. Burns might repeat what he did in the past and vacate the WBO strap rather than face Broner and risk getting battered and knocked out.
Burns is facing #1 WBO Kevin Mitchell next month on September 22nd at the Scottish Exhibition Center in Glasgow, Scotland. I figure Mitchell will lose this fight unless he can score a knockout. He’s going to be really up against it and I don’t see him walking out of Scott Exhibition Center with a decision.
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