Focused Burns not looking beyond Moses
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.”