Burns-Mitchell winner merely keeping WBO 135 lb strap warm for Broner
The winner of the September 22nd fight between WBO lightweight champion Ricky Burns and Kevin Mitchell could very well be merely keeping the World Boxing Organization 135 pound title warm long enough for Adrien Broner (24-0, 20 KO’s) to move in and take the belt from the winner, that is, if Burns doesn’t vacate an move up again.
Broner reportedly will be moved up to #1 in the WBO lightweight rankings as soon as the Burns-Mitchell fight is over, and that is going to put an incredible amount of pressure on the Burns-Mitchell winner. Oh, I’m sure that Burns or Mitchell won’t volunteer to fight Broner in their very next fight, because that could be like volunteering to get knocked out and have your title removed. But once Burns or Mitchell gets a nice voluntary title defense out of the way, they’ll be staring at the reality of having to defend the WBO title against Broner.
I can see some serious thinking going on when that happens – to fight Broner or vacate the title. I wish I could believe that Burns, if he beats Mitchell, will agree to take the fight with Broner, but I don’t see that happening. My prediction will be that Burns vacates and moves up to light welterweight to see how things are up there, while Broner moves in to take vacant WBO lightweight title in a fight against someone like #3 WBO Sharif Bogere.
The Burns-Mitchell fight is one that’s impossible to pick a winner. In an actual fight where punches are exchanged, Mitchell is the guy 7 days a week, 365 days a year. However, Burns likes to clinch, and he could shut down Mitchell’s offense completely if he’s allowed to grab Mitchell all night long whenever the Brit tries to let his hands go. Besides that, the fight is taking place at the Scottish Exhibition Center in Glasgow, Scotland, and it’s going to be really tough for Mitchell to win a decision fighting in Burns’ backyard.
By: Scott Gilfoid