Saturday, September 4, 2010

Burns beats Martinez in Glasgow

Roman Martinez (left) and Ricky Burns
Martinez (left) made a cut-throat gesture to Burns at the weigh-in

Scotland's Ricky Burns claimed the WBO super-featherweight title by taking a unanimous decision against Puerto Rican Roman Martinez in Glasgow.

Burns rallied superbly from being floored in the first round to largely dominate his previously undefeated foe.

Burns was awarded victory by three rounds from two of the judges and two rounds by the third.

On the undercard, Stephen Smith won the Commonwealth featherweight belt by a majority verdict against John Simpson.

The victory maintains 24-year-old Liverpool fighter Smith's unbeaten record.

Thousands of fans in Glasgow's Kelvin Hall made for a partisan pro-Burns crowd for what resulted in a truly memorable main bout.

606: DEBATE

Burns though made a dubious start, being knocked to the canvas in the first round by a firm right hand from Martinez, the Puerto Rican's first real punch in anger.

Burns' response was superb though and he took the fight to Martinez, playing the hard-hitting champion at his own game and landing a string of powerful shots throughout a gripping 12 rounds.

The fifth round in particular proved decisive as Burns landed two big right hooks, putting Martinez under severe pressure and the Scot went on to dominate the next three rounds with further powerful punches that found their target.

Sensing defeat, Martinez came out all guns blazing in the final round but Burns found the most damaging blow and remained in control to the end.

Martinez came into the fight with a record of 15 knockouts from 25 fights and had previously stopped Essex fighter Nicky Cook in Manchester in March 2009 to claim the WBO crown, but he never looked at home against Burns, who now has 29 wins in 31 bouts.

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