THE VIEW'S BOXING REVIEW
JUNE
Burns Career Left In Tatters
By Paul Hampton
Ricky Burns (36-4-1, 11kos) suffered a
shock defeat to unbeaten Dejan
Zlaticanin (19-0, 13kos) at the
Braehead Arena in Glasgow. The
fight which was for the vacant
WBC International Lightweight
Title, was supposed to be the
Scotsman’s first step towards
another shot at a world title.
The dream appeared to be in real danger
within in 30 seconds as Burns was dropped heavily
and appeared shaken as he rose to his feet. While Burns was able to
regain composure, the errors, which have been evident in his recent fights quickly,
reared their head again. He was trapped on the ropes numerous times, allowing his big punching opponent to outwork him, a trait which Burns usually uses himself.
Burns was behind on the cards going in to the championship rounds, and despite his good work during those rounds, he was unable to persuade the judges to give the decision his way as Zlaticanin was announced the winner, 115-113 on two of the judges cards while one had it the same in the favor of Burns.
announced the winner, 115-113 on two of the judges cards while one had it the
same in the favor of Burns.
Before the fight Hearn had said if his
man lost it would spell the end of his top
level career and that he would have to
step back a level, however there are more
worrying concerns for the former world
champion. Burns appeared gun shy, how
much of that is down to the broken jaw
he suffered last year we don’t know but
that is not something that will change by
dropping down a level.
On the undercard Curtis Woodhouse
(22-7, 13kos) made his comeback following a
brief retirement, attempted to defend his
British title against Willie Limond (38-4, 10kos).
Limond had too much class on the night as he
won a majority decision, knocking down the
champion twice along the way.
Woodhouse has had a fantastic career, not many people believed he would achieve what he has in his career, and he can look back on it with pride, while Limond now embarks on an exciting new chapter, he has the chance to make his mark on the domestic scene.
In a fight that was fueled by bad blood, Stephen Simmons (10-0, 5kos) rallied to stop Wadi Camacho (12-3, 8kos) in the tenth round. Camacho had been vocal before the fight, personally attacking him. Despite all of that, the fight failed to live up to the hype. Camacho boxed a very good fight on the back foot, but appeared to run out of steam and when Simmons had him hurt, he refused to let him off the hook.