Ricky Burns to fight Miguel Vazquez at Wembley

Jan 16 2013 by Colin Paterson, Airdrie & Coatbridge Advertiser

Ricky Burns will attempt to unify the lightweight division when he faces Miguel Vazquez in London.

The 29-year-old will take on the IBF lightweight title holder from Mexico at Wembley Arena on Saturday, March 16.

WBO lightweight champion Burns was due to be in action before Christmas but was left frustrated by two call-offs .

But the Coatbridge puncher is only focused on Vazquez who has won 33 of his 36 pro career contests.

He said: “People were saying I couldn’t keep the smile off my face when I was told about this last week.

“I’m over the moon and I can’t wait to get in the ring and get on with things now.

“It’s going to be a very tough fight and nobody knows better than me about the task ahead of me. Vazquez is one of the top fighters around. He is a good boxer and technically very good. I’m up for the challenge.”

Meanwhile, promoter Frank Warren says Burns could end up fighting American Adrien Broner in a summer blockbuster.

Burns had been earmarked for a unification showdown with the WBC lightweight title holder from Cincinnati, Ohio, at the start of this year.

But Warren was unhappy with the amount of preparation time available and the fact that Burns was unable to fight at the end of 2011.

He will now take on Vazquez and Warren believes the Broner bout would then become even more fascinating if he wins.

He said: “This fight will be part of the biggest show in the first quarter of 2013. Vazquez is very good, well respected and one of the most difficult fighters to beat.

“There was a lot of speculation about Ricky fighting Broner in February. At the time Ricky was in training and I was in favour of the fight.

“But several weeks for me was not good enough for him to be in a position to fight Broner. If he has two belts around his waist then it becomes an even bigger one in the summer.”