Ricky Burns is gunning for the ultimate birthday present this weekend as he aims to add Julius Indongo’s IBF and IBO World titles to his own WBA Super-Lightweight title in their unification clash at the SSE Hydro in Glasgow on Saturday night (April 15) live on Sky Sports.
Burns turned 34 today and came face-to-face with the Namibian at their pre-fight press conference in Glasgow.
The Rickster welcomes the unbeaten Southpaw to the venue of his moment of history in May when he became Scotland’s first three-weight World champion with an eighth round stoppage win over Michele Di Rocco.
Burns defended his crown for the first time with a dogged display against impressive mandatory challenger Kiryl Relikh in October. Indongo is the third man to test Burns in the Hydro cauldron, and Burns is in no mood to let slip another chance to create a piece of history as he aims to continue his remarkable career at the very top.
“When I first started out you always think about winning belts and being in massive fights, but I never set myself any targets,” said Burns. “I just worked hard and when I got the chances, I took them and it paid off. I’ve had a few bad nights and it took me a while to move down to Essex and get used to training with Tony, but it’s clicked now.
“I got the Di Rocco fight and I jumped at it. People noticed there that I still had something to give, I knew it was still there, but there were people that doubted that.
“I don’t think about what I’ve done so far and I won’t until I hang them up. In my eyes, a fight is a fight. It’s always great to go into big fights like this one, but the pressure is big enough in World title fights that I keep stuff like legacies and so on away and just focus on what’s in front of me, that’s the way I’ve always been.
“Don’t get me wrong, I’m happy with what I’ve achieved and people always say that I’m a three-weight World champion and only one of three ever in Britain, but I’ve not really thought about it and it’s not sunk in.
“I just love fighting. People ask me all the time how long do I think I can keep going and my answer is always as long as I am not taking punishment, still want to do it and enjoy it, then I’ll keep going – and I think that there’s years left in me.
“I’m taking it one fight at a time. This is a big, big night, the biggest I’ve had. We spoke about unification fights at Super-Featherweight and Lightweight and now it’s here – I just can’t wait. There were easier fights out there and maybe even more lucrative fights, but this is the fight I wanted and I’m confident that things will go well.”
Burns’ clash with Indongo is part of a huge night of action in Glasgow with two cracking British title fights leading the supporting cast as Scotty Cardle looks to land the Lightweight belt outright when he faces Robbie Barrett and Charlie Edwards and Iain Butcher clash for the vacant Super-Flyweight title.
Rio Olympian Josh Kelly makes his pro debut, his Team GB teammate Lawrence Okolie boxes for the second time in the pros, Charlie Flynn fights for his first pro title as he faces Ryan Collins for the Celtic Lightweight title and Joe Ham takes on Scott McCormack for the Scottish Super-Bantamweight title.
Julius Indongo has told Ricky Burns that the hometown fans won’t help him when they clash in a World Super-Lightweight unification showdown at the SSE Hydro in Glasgow on Saturday night (April 15) live on Sky Sports
Indongo is looking to add Burns’ WBA strap to the IBF and IBO belts he won in spectacular fashion in December when he travelled to Russia in his first fight outside of his homeland of Namibia and delivered a devastating one-punch KO win over champion Eduard Troyanovsky.
That was a third straight win inside the distance for the 34 year old who carries raw power and is a nightmare on paper as a tall, rangy Southpaw.
Indongo feels that his win in Russia has been dismissed as a fluke though, and he is coming to Scotland to prove that he’s the real deal.
“We’re focused and ready,” said Indongo. “I’ve polished the tools and technique for the fight. He’s picked us which is fine with me. It’s not easy to fight someone in their backyard but you need to make sure that you are totally prepared for the task.
“We don’t have any doubts in this team. The aim is to keep winning. I’ve heard what they’ve been saying. They said it was a lucky punch that floored Troyanovsky. It’s always easy to talk. Bring Burns in front of me and we will see who is the best.”
Indongo says he’s always known that he would need to travel to secure major fights having boxed at home for the first 20 bouts in the paid ranks. The Glasgow crowd are sure to give the visitor a hostile reception as he walks to the ring, but he has a warning for both the fans and Burns – that nothing will distract him from his task.
“Fighting away from home has never been a problem,” said Indongo. “I know that we cannot host such a huge event in South Africa so I am always prepared to travel. There’s only Ricky and me in the ring, the fans will have no effect on me.
“The KO will be a bonus but we’re training for hard rounds, I am undefeated and have no doubts that I will stay that way.
“We are not that well recognised in the world of boxing but I warn you – do not underestimate us, because that’s what happened in Moscow.”
Indongo follows in the footsteps of fellow countryman Paulus Moses who challenged Burns for his WBO Lightweight crown in March 2012, and the ‘Blue Machine’ believes that Moses was short-changed by the judges that night, as was Kiryl Relikh, who was edged out on points by Burns in his first defence of the WBA in October.
“I thought Paulus won the fight but maybe he didn’t win because it was in Scotland,” said Indongo. “I don’t think he beat Relikh either, but you cannot look at that, he must not take me lightly or make mistakes.
“The sky is the limit for me. I will fight anybody, but the dream is to fight in Las Vegas, I want someone to make me a bigger offer to fight there and defend all the titles, including the WBA belt I will win.”
Indongo’s clash with Burns is part of a huge night of action in Glasgow, and the undercard is led by a pair of British title fights as Scotty Cardle looks to land the Lightweight title outright when he faces Robbie Barrett and Charlie Edwards and Iain Butcher clash for the vacant Super-Flyweight title.
Rio Olympian Josh Kelly makes his pro debut, his Team GB teammate Lawrence Okolie boxes for the second time in the pros, Charlie Flynn fights for his first pro title as he faces Ryan Collins for the Celtic Lightweight title and Joe Ham takes on Scott McCormack for the Scottish Super-Bantamweight title.
Tickets for April 15 are on general sale priced £40, £60 and £100 from www.thessehydro.com and £200 VIP exclusively at www.matchroomboxing.com
Burns vs Indongo on April 15th LIVE on AWE and Klowdtv
Ricky Burns and Julius Indongo will clash in a bout that will unify the WBA and IBF 140-pound world titles. The match-up takes place on Saturday, April 15th and will be featured live and exclusively on AWE, A Wealth of Entertainment and www.klowdtv.com in the United States.
Burns will have the home fan advantage. The bout originates from the SSE Hydro in Glasgow, Scotland. The undercard fights begin at 2:30 PM EST / 11:20 AM PT.
“We’re thrilled to bring this very exciting world unification fight to our fans,” stated Robert Herring, CEO of AWE.
Burns of Coatsbridge, Scotland has been a world champion in three weight-classes, and has been competing in world title bouts for seven years.
The 33 year-old has a record of 41-5-1 with 14 knockouts. He has taken part in 12 world title bouts with a record of 10-1-1 in those contests.
Burns has wins over Colin Bain (8-0), Graham Earl (22-0), Haider Ali (4-1), Osumanu Akaba (21-4-1), Yakuba Amidu (16-1-1), Michael Gomes (38-9) and Kevin O’Hara (16-4).
On September 4, 2010, Burns won the WBO Super Featherweight title with a 12 round unanimous decision over Michael Katsidis (28-4). He won the full title with a 12-round unanimous decision over Paulus Moses (28-1). Burns defended that title 3 times with wins over Kevin Mitchell (33-1) & Jose Gonzalez (22-0) and a draw with Raymundo Beltran (28-6), before dropping his title to Terence Crawford.
Burns became a 3-division champion with an 8th round stoppage over Michele Di Rocco on May 28, 2016. He has made one defense, which came on October 7th with a unanimous decision over Kiryl Relikh.
“When Julius Indongo knocked out Eduard Troyanovsky he was immediately an opponent I was interested in,” says Burns. “Indongo can clearly punch and that’s an impressive way to win a World title, especially in Russia. It was some shot he hit Troyanovsky with.
“It’s a huge fight in the division and the kind of fights I need to be involved in at this stage of my career. There were other names talked about but I wanted the toughest, most dangerous fight out there. Indongo with his two belts was that man.
“He is a big tall, rangy, southpaw but bring it on – I have no fear of anyone and it is only the massive fights for me now.
“Fighting in Glasgow is special for me, the crowd at the SSE Hydro has been electric the last two occasions and I expect it to be no different this time round.”
Indongo of Windhoek, Namibia has a perfect mark of 20-0 with 11 knockouts.
The 34 year-old is an eight-year professional, who was the WBO African Super Lightweight champion as he had wins over Zolani Marali (4-5), Ibrahim Class (12-1) and Ishmael Kuchocha (12-3).
On December 3, 2016, Indongo scored one of the biggest upsets of the year, when he scored a stunning and explosive 40 second knockout over classy and undefeated IBF Champion Eduard Troyanovsky (25-0) in the former champion’s backyard of Moscow, Russia.
Indongo added: “It’s an absolute honor for me to fight Ricky, who I regard as an accomplished champion. I respect what he has achieved so far but I’m going to Scotland to rob him of his belt. I know it won’t be easy but I’m comforted by the fact that I have a good team and passionate Namibian fans, and I have every intention of making them smile and unifying the division on April 15.”
Ricky Burns – Julius Indongo in Glasgow on April 15
Ricky Burns will face unbeaten Namibian Julius Indongo for the WBA and IBF World Super-Lightweight titles in a massive unification clash at the SSE Hydro in Glasgow on April 15, live on Sky Sports.
Burns became a three-weight World champion when he won the WBA strap with an eighth-round stoppage of Michele di Rocco in his hometown last May and successfully defended his belt with a unanimous points victory over Kiryl Relikh in October while Indongo ripped the IBF title from Russian Eduard Troyanovsky with a 40 second first-round knockout in Moscow in December.
“When Julius Indongo knocked out Eduard Troyanovsky he was immediately an opponent I was interested in,” said Burns. “Indongo can clearly punch and that’s an impressive way to win a World title, especially in Russia. It was some shot he hit Troyanovsky with.
“It’s a huge fight in the division and the kind of fights I need to be involved in at this stage of my career. There were other names talked about but I wanted the toughest, most dangerous fight out there. Indongo with his two belts was that man.
“He is a big, tall, rangy, southpaw but bring it on – I have no fear of anyone and it is only the massive fights for me now.
“Fighting in Glasgow is special for me, the crowd at the SSE Hydro has been electric the last two occasions and I expect it to be no different this time round. Their support means the world to me, the crowd has always behind me and I want to put in a big performance for them again. The last card was really good with some top local talent and I’m excited to see who else is on this one.”
Indongo added: ”It’s an absolute honour for me to fight Ricky, who I regard as an accomplished champion. I respect what he has achieved so far but I’m going to Scotland to rob him of his belt. I know it won’t be easy but I’m comforted by the fact that I have a good team and passionate Namibian fans, and I have every intention of making them smile and unifying the division on April 15.”
Butcher: I’ll Expose Edwards In Glasgow
Iain Butcher says Charlie Edwards was exposed at World level and he’ll do the same when they clash for the British Super-Flyweight title at the SSE Hydro in Glasgow on Saturday night (April 15), live on Sky Sports.
Butcher and Edwards are familiar foes having trained alongside each other as amateurs, and while the Scot says there’s no ill feeling towards the Englishman, he’s out to show that he’s the man with the bright future and not the Surrey talent that boxed for the IBF World Flyweight title in September.
“He’s beatable,” said Butcher, who boxed for the British belt at Flyweight in 2013. “He stepped up to World class and got well beat. He went from fighting Luke Wilton in a British title eliminator to fighting for the World title. I think that he knows he doesn’t belong at that level and he’s got a lot to prove, but so have I.
“Fair play to him for taking the chance but other than that fight he’s not boxed anyone and this is an even fight and one that I can win comfortably – I’m very confident.”
“Charlie is a Matchroom guy so they’re putting him in there expecting him to be the massive favourite. I want to go out there and shock them and show Matchroom that they picked the wrong man.
“These are the fights I want to be in and for everyone saying he is the favourite I think it’s a great 50/50 fight.
“We used to kick about together, we sparred a lot, spent a lot of time together and even roomed together. I know him well and there’s no animosity, its business. We’re in the same weight division and we want the same thing, so the fight was inevitable.
“I’ve got a lot of respect for him and as a fighter, but I’m looking forward to winning the British title. He’s a tough lad and can really box, but I’ve got the will to win in there and I think that will be the difference.
“I know what to expect from him and what his strengths and weaknesses are. Things have changed for both of us since the days we sparred.”
Butcher’s clash with Edwards is part of a huge night of action in Glasgow led by the World Super-Lightweight unification battle between Ricky Burns and Julius Indongo.
Scotty Cardle looks to land the Lightweight title outright when he faces Robbie Barrett and Charlie Edwards and Iain Butcher clash for the vacant Super-Flyweight title, Rio Olympian Josh Kelly makes his pro debut, his Team GB teammate Lawrence Okolie boxes for the second time in the pros, Charlie Flynn fights for his first pro title as he faces Ryan Collins for the Celtic Lightweight title and Joe Ham takes on Scott McCormack for the Scottish Super-Bantamweight title.
Tickets for April 15 are on general sale priced £40, £60 and £100 from www.thessehydro.com and £200 VIP exclusively at www.matchroomboxing.com