SAN DIEGO (JANUARY 22, 2014)–On Saturday afternoon, March 1st, Ricky Burns will make his 4th defense of the WBO Lightweight title when he takes on highly regarded and undefeated Terence Crawford in a 12-round bout from the Scottish Exhibition Centre in Glasgow, Scotland.
The fight can be viewed live and exclusively across the United States on AWE, A Wealth of Entertainment.
“This world title fight showdown has the makings of a ‘fight of the year’. Crawford is undefeated and coming off some big wins. Burns is a proven champ. We’re ecstatic to be bringing this world-class title fight to boxing fans across the United States”, said Charles Herring, president of AWE.
Burns of Coatbridge, Scotland has a record of 36-2-1 with 11 knockouts and has not lost a fight in over seven years which spans 22 fights. He won the WBO Super Featherweight title with a thrilling 12 round unanimous decision over Roman Martinez. He made three defenses of his crown which includes wins over Andreas Evensen and Joseph Laryea. Burns then stopped former WBO Super featherweight champion Nicky Cook in one round.
Burns moved up to Lightweight and in his first fight at the higher weight class, he scored a 12 round unanimous decision over former champion Michael Katsidis to win the WBO Interim title.
Burns won the full title with a 12 round unanimous decision over former WBA champion Paulus Moses. Burns looked great in taking out fellow United Kingdom fighter Kevin Mitchell in four rounds. He then was able to outlast undefeated Jose Gonzalez when Gonzalez was forced to retire on the stool after the 9th round.
In his last bout, Burns fought through a broken jaw to salvage a controversial draw with Ray Beltran on September 7, 2013.
In the bout, Burns started off fast, but Beltran responded. By the end of the fight, many US boxing fans felt that Beltran should have walked away with the title belt.
Burns is 8-0-1 in world title fights.
Crawford of Omaha, Nebraska will be making his 1st attempt at a world title and brings in a perfect ledger at 22-0 with 16 knockouts.
The 26-year old is widely regarded as one of the top fighters in the division and has been performing at a high level.
He started to open eyes when he scored a shutout victory over hard-hitting power puncher Breidis Prescott on March 30, 2013.
Crawford followed that up with a 6-round beat down of Alejandro Sanabria (34-1-1) on June 15, 2013.
In his last bout, Crawford showed his terrific boxing ability by winning via shutout on all three judges’ score cards against previously undefeated Andrey Klimov (16-0) on October 5, 2013 in Orlando, Florida.
There will be a full undercard which will include a world title bout featuring WBA Super Bantamweight champion Scott Quigg announced shortly.
About AWE Live Boxing
For 2012, AWE earned 2 of the 6 Boxing Writers Association of America nominations for “Fight of the Year” candidates, beating out all other networks except HBO which earned three. AWE also showcased live all 2012 David Price fights. In 2013 AWE has featured the stunning upsets of Tony Thompson over Price, bouts with Adonis Stevenson and Tony Bellew, who just fought each other for the Light Heavyweight championship; 2008 Olympic Gold Medal winner James DeGale and possibly the two most controversial bouts which saw Ricky Burns keep his Lightweight title against Ray Beltran as well as the debatable stoppage that saw Carl Froch retain his title against George Groves.
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Header photo edit by John Garita/Round By Round Boxing
