Boxing: Burns retains Commonwealth title

Jun 24 2009 by Colin Paterson, Airdrie & Coatbridge Advertiser

RICKY BURNS admitted his unanimous points victory over Kevin O’Hara was a learning experience after retaining the Commonwealth Super-Featherweight title.

The Coatbridge scrapper was pushed all the way by the Northern Irishman in an enthralling contest at the Bellahouston Leisure Centre in Glasgow on Friday night.

Burns found himself on the back foot a number of times as O’Hara fought as if his life depended on it.

But the champion maintained a steady flow of pressure and continued to land punches throughout the bout which saw him earn the judges’ decision.

The 26-year-old knew he had been in a battle as he reflected on a tough night at the office, and vowed to work on his weaknesses ahead of his next outing, likely to be in September.

He said: “It was a hard fight but a good one for me to have as you can’t buy the experience it gives you.

“There is still room for improvement in certain areas and we will decide what needs done after I come back from holiday.

“I felt as if I let him into the fight more than I should have, but take nothing away from Kevin who gave me a tough fight.

“He was being a bit dirty at times as he used his head, went for some low blows and hit me on the back of the head.

“But I should have been more professional and not moaned about it as much.”

Burns was backed by another noisy crowd who had travelled to the south side of Glasgow for a fight he predicted would be over in eight rounds.

But O’Hara was made of sterner stuff and he looked in great shape thanks to a gruelling training camp which included running up and down Belfast’s Hannahstown Hills.

The first round was a close affair as the Ulsterman caught Burns with a left hand, but the champ responded with a couple of strong shots of his own.

O’Hara relied heavily on short blitzes of attacking boxing that were designed to unsettle Burns, but the Monklands star defended himself well for the most part.

Burns laboured at times, but he gradually took control in the later rounds as O’Hara conserved his energy in order to last the distance.

He delivered some nice left and right combinations and by the end of the fight, had thrown 130 more punches than O’Hara who landed 91 compared to Burns’ 96.

“I felt my left hand to his body was hurting him a bit but every time I threw something, Kevin threw something right back,” added the belt holder.

“He was going for the big hooks but I knew that all I had to do was keep my chin in and I would be fine.”

O’Hara had slightly more success when it came to hitting the head but Burns executed more body shots that tested the Belfast bruiser.

Judges Victor Loughlin and Dave Parris scored the fight heavily in Burns’ favour which was perhaps a little harsh on O’Hara who turned in a fine performance on a night when he emerged with all the credit.

* CRAIG WINDSOR jnr made it three wins out of three after defeating Ben Deghani in a welterweight bout.

The Coatbridge contender landed some tasty uppercuts and powerful hooks which left Deghani on the brink.

Windsor’s opponent was all over the place defensively and had a swollen right eye by the time the referee stepped in with 57 seconds remaining of the third round.