Date:  September 7, 2013

Title:  WBO Lightweight Championship

Location:  Scottish Exhibition Centre, Glasgow, Scotland, United Kingdom

Promoter:  Matchroom Boxing/Eddie Hearn

Supervisor:  Dennis Gilmartin

Referee:  Phil Edwards

Judges:  Carlos Ortiz, Jr.  (115-112), Richard Davies (114-114) and Andre Van Grootenbruel  (113-115)

Results:  A 12-round split draw.  Burns suffered a broken jaw in the 2nd round.  Burns was knocked down in the 8th round.

 

There are many ways to win a fight, but Ricky Burns again did not stray far from his stick-and-move formula to turn back the rugged challenge of Paulus Moses and retain his WBO lightweight title in front of an appreciative Scottish audience.

Judges awarded him the decision by margins of 119-110, 120-110 and 117-110 – a little harsh on the African challenger, from this vantage point, at least: I had him winning 116-113. The Coatbridge man remains on track for a considerably bigger fight in June, against the Londoner Kevin Mitchell.

Burns got a lager-spilling reception from the 6,000 fans in the Braehead Arena on his return to a Glasgow ring after an absence of a year – although it was a bit rude to play Flower of Scotland for the champion and be left to wonder what the Namibian anthem sounds like.

Snubbed or not, Moses was intent on making it a long night for Burns. The heavy-handed man from Windhoek, a former WBA champion, rumbled after Burns, who took a round or two to hit a rhythm, his pink gloves incongruous but effective weapons.

The Burns right, thrown at an angle over his opponent’s guard, hit the target with encouraging regularity as he took control of centre ring, giving ground only when covering up on the ropes, a strategy that non-plussed the challenger.

Reduced to charging through a blizzard of pink, Moses soaked up a steady flow of blows to the head but remained dangerous on the counter. He looked to have shared the fifth and took the sixth, growing strong as Burns struggled to hold him at bay.

Moses continued to throw big shots in bunches, not all of them catching Burns’s high guard. The boisterous crowd of only a quarter of an hour earlier idled in relative silence, and the chatter from the visitor’s corner grew ever more urgent.

An overhand right rocked Burns early in the ninth but he came back with one of his own and a few more jabs and uppercuts near the bell to take control going into the championship rounds.

The crowd came to life in the 10th, as did Burns, weathering the now less frequent attacks by Moses – who looked his 33 years – and working more vigorously to the ribs. As the seconds ebbed, so did Moses.

The 12th started curiously. They hugged at the start, rather than merely touching gloves, then Burns looked distractedly down at his shorts; had it been Floyd Mayweather in front of him rather than the gentlemanly Moses, he would have spent the next 10 seconds staring at the ceiling. He returned to work quickly enough, dancing clear of danger, and banging out enough jabs to consolidate his advantage. Scotland would be no Promised Land for Moses.

http://www.guardian.co.uk/sport/2012/mar/11/ricky-burns-retains-title?newsfeed=true

Ricky Burns aims to make a successful defence of his WBO lightweight title against Paulus Moses on Saturday to reward his vast army of fans.

Burns, 28, is grateful for the sold-out home support at Glasgow’s Braehead Arena as he prepares to take on the Namibian challenger.

“I would like to say a big thanks to everyone who is going,” he said, before a media workout at trainer Billy Nelson’s Fighting Scots gym in Mossend, Lanarkshire.

“My phone has been going constantly with people asking for tickets. I was on the phone this morning to see if I could get any more, the demand has been unbelievable.

“My last couple of fights have been away from home and I think because a lot of people missed out and because it is in Glasgow, the response has been great.

 

http://www1.skysports.com/boxing/news/12183/7574864/Burns-wants-reward-for-fans

 

Ricky Burns admits he knows little of Saturday’s opponent Paulus Moses, the WBO lightweight champion preferring to concentrate on his own training and prepare himself for “whatever he brings”.

Burns, 28, returns to Scotland for the first defence of his title, with the pair set for battle at a sold-out Braehead Arena in Glasgow.

A domestic showdown with rival Kevin Mitchell could await the Scot in the summer, but Burns says the last thing he can afford to do is take the Namibian challenger lightly, even if he has not watched him in action.

“This is a very dangerous fight, but I’ll do what I need to do to win” Burns told BBC Scotland. “He’s only lost once, he’s a former world champion with 28 victories from 29 fights, 19 knockouts: which shows he can punch a bit.

“I’ve still not watched any footage of him, I’ve left that to my trainer. When you watch your opponent you tend to look at what they’re good at, which can throw you off. I like to concentrate on what I’m going to do in the fight, so I go in there with a clear mind.

“We know he’s a good boxer, we know he’s got a big right hand – but I’ve been in the ring with big punchers before and proved I can take a shot so with this fight we’ll just go out and take it from the first round.”

Burns is excited to be fighting in front of his home fans for the first time in 12 months, insisting that the level of support has been overwhelming.

“I’m really looking forward to getting into the ring at the Braehead Arena – the last couple of fights have been away from home,” he added. “The support and the response I’ve been getting for this fight has been unbelievable. My phone’s still going constantly with people asking for tickets.

“If I win on Saturday then I think we’re going to need a bigger venue for the next fight.”

 

http://www.espn.co.uk/boxing/sport/story/139693.html