By Scott Gilfoid: Ricky Burns (40-5-1, 14 KOs) made weight on Thursday in coming in at 139.2 pounds for his title defense against #1 WBA challenger Kiryl Relikh (21-0, 19 KOs) for their match this Friday night at the SSE Hydro in Glasgow, Scotland. The young lion Relikh weighed in at 140lbs at the light welterweight limit. Of the two, I’d say Relikh looked to be the healthier, more youthful and ready for combat on Friday night.
We already know that Relikh has the better punching power of the two, so there’s no arguing about that. The only thing we don’t know about Relikh is whether he can score a knockout over the 33-year-old Burns, because he may need one.
Relikh IS fighting in Burns’ hometown of Glasgow, and who can forget the dreadful controversial draw between Burns and Raymundo Beltran that took place in that city three years ago in 2013.
Many boxing fans thought Beltran won the fight 11 rounds to 1. The judges scored it a draw, and it was so, so sad for me to watch poor Beltran getting the shaft.
Okay, so here’s what Relikh is going to need to do for him to walk out of Glasgow with the World Boxing Association World 140lb title slung over his shoulder on Friday night:
– knockout Burns. The best way for Relikh to get out of Glasgow without being in the receiving end up a controversial decision is to knockout Burns. That’s easier said than done because Burns has a good chin, and he tends to do a great deal of holding when he faces punchers.
– Keep Burns from clinching, wrestling and putting him in arm bars all night long like we’ve seen in the past from him. It would be nice if the referee did his part and actually penalized or warns Burns for his holding, but I’m not holding my breath. I think if Relikh wants to get Burns off of him, he’s going to need to pry him off finger by finger to get some breathing room. It wouldn’t hurt for Relikh to slam Burns in the bread basket with some punches if he insists on holding like mad on Friday night. It’s hard for a fighter to hold like an eight-armed octopus when they’re getting nailed in the breadbasket. I’m just saying. If Burns starts holding, then Relikh needs to get an arm free and tag Burns in the midsection with as much power as he can. If he does that over and over again, I think Burns will let go and focus on boxing rather than wrestling.
– Get close and nail Burns with repeated left hooks to the body. Relikh’s body punching is his best weapon in his arsenal by far, but he doesn’t use it enough. On Friday night, Relikh needs to throw triple left hooks to the body and head thrown with maximum punching power. That weapon should get Burns’ attention, I suspect. Relikh needs to make it a left hook clinic in the ring and throw nothing else. Relikh’s right hand is too weak to be much of a weapon, and he shouldn’t bother trying to throw combinations because his form breaks down completely when he does this. The only time that Relikh is truly dangerous is when he comes forward like a young Ricky Hatton and unloads with triple left hooks. Relikh is pretty brutal when he does this. His opponents haven’t been able to stand up to him when he’s unleashing these left hooks, and I suspect it’ll be the same with Burns. He is human after all, and he’s getting old.
Other weights on the Burns vs. Relikh card are as follows:
Dillian Whyte 253 vs. Ian Lewison 271
This is a British heavyweight match-up pitting Dillian Whyte (18-1, 14 KOs) facing 35-year-old Ian Lewison (12-2-1, 8 KOs) in a 12 round bout for the vacant BBBofC British heavyweight title. Whyte, 28, should win the fight, but that’s not saying much, because he’s not facing a high caliber opponent in Lewison. The major question for this fight is whether Whyte has regained the punching power in his surgically repaired left shoulder.
Before suffering a shoulder injury in 2015, Whyte was a devastating puncher with his left hook. That punch would have likely taken him all the way to a world title. Unfortunately for Whyte, he suffered a shoulder injury that needed surgery. Since coming back from his surgery, Whyte’s left hook is missing the devastating power that he once had. In fact, Whyte isn’t using his left any longer other than for throwing weak jabs.
Whyte has won his last two fights since being beaten by Anthony Joshua by a 7th round knockout last December, but he’s not been fighting quality opposition, which is completely understandable. If Whyte’s left hand power is going to come back, it’s going to need time, a lot of time. In Whyte’s last two fights, he’s beaten Ivica Baurin and David Allen. Both are lower level fighters, and Whyte did what he had to for him to beat them.
The promoter for the event is Matchoom Sport, the guys that promote Burns. The fight card will be televised on Sky Sports in the UK.
