Ricky Burns (41-6-1, 14 KOs) isn’t even considering the chance that he will lose this Saturday night to former WBA lightweight champion Anthony Crolla (31-6-3, 13 KOs) in their 12 round scheduled fight at the Manchester Arena in Manchester, England.
Burns sees himself as above the 30-year-old Crolla in the talent department, so he doesn’t foresee any problems with getting the victory on Saturday.
Burns vs. Crolla will be televised live on Sky Sports this Saturday night. You can say it’s a do or die fight for both of these excellent fighters, but it won’t be the end for the loser. The lightweight division is about to undergo some changes once Mikey Garcia moves up and Jorge Linares eventually gets dethroned. Burns and Crolla are looking to get a crack at Linares if possible.
“I’m not losing on Saturday, so I am not even going to answer that!” said Burns when asked by skysports.com what he’ll do to get a crack at a world title if he loses to Crolla on Saturday night. “In my eyes, this is going to be my hardest fight and I need to make sure I go out and win it. Anthony is a great guy. I get on well with him, we have sparred before, both of us like to keep ourselves to ourselves and do our talking in the ring.”
Crolla will need to find another gear for him to defeat Burns on Saturday. Crolla was not competitive with Jorge Linares the last time out in losing a 12 round decision on March 25. Whatever Crolla did, Linares had an answer for. The fight was nothing like their first match last year on September 24. Linares won that fight goo, but was close.
Burns is being kind by saying Crolla is his hardest fight. That can’t be true. Burns has lost to Terence Crawford, Julius Indongo and Dejan Zlaticanin in the past. Those 3 fighters would have to be seen as more difficult opponents for the 34-year-old Burns than a fight with Crolla, who is coming off of back to back defeats to Jorge Linares. The second defeat for Crolla to Linares was a really one-sided affair with Linares beating him by a 12 round unanimous decision by the scores 118-109, 118-109 and 118-109.
Burns lost to Indongo by a 12 round unanimous decision last April by the scores 120-108, 118-110 and 116-112.
Also on Saturday’s Burns vs. Crolla card are the following fights:
Sam Eggington vs. Mohamed Minoune
Conor Benn vs. Nathan Clarke