Transformed Burns proved Hearn wrong
EDDIE HEARN admits it. He thought ricky Burns was ‘done’. The fast-talking promoter, a man not prone to pessimism either by nature or profession, was convinced that retirement was the only option.
Less than three years on, Hearn is delighted he kept those dark thoughts to himself.
and he’s thrilled to have been proven so spectacularly wrong.
Tomorrow night at the SSE Hydro, WBA super-lightweight champion Burns attempts to add Julius Indongo’s IBF and IBO belts to his collection.
Victory in front of 8,000 home fans will, according to Hearn, put Scotland’s only three-weight world champion on the urgent call-list of every other fighter in the ten-stone division.
To hear Hearn tell it, reigning WBC and WBO title holder Terence Crawford — who beat Burns at lightweight back in 2014 — will be battling with the enigmatic, unpredictable, boxoffice magician adrien Broner for first crack at the Coatbridge great.
It is not a scenario either man could have envisaged when Hearn watched Burns, still smarting from that Crawford defeat, beaten by Dejan Zlaticanin — yes, exactly — at a half-empty Braehead arena in the summer of ’14.
Hearn said: ‘I remember being in his dressing room after the Zlaticanin loss — I was thinking: “That’s it, you’ve got to retire”.
‘I was honestly thinking: “Come on, you don’t want to drop down to domestic or even European level. You’re done. You’ve achieved what you want, you’re a twoweight world champion”.
‘He was a broken man after that fight. and I would have put good money on not seeing him in big title fights again.
‘But he won’t give in. He’s in that gym working harder than any of those young kids.
‘I have never seen such a transformation like this. not at the stage of the career he was at.
‘They don’t have a resurgence at that point. But, because he’s kept himself fit and healthy, anything is possible.
‘now he has a chance of the biggest night of his career — at 34 years old.
‘So, no, I didn’t really have that conversation (about retirement) with ricky. He’s achieved too much for me to give him advice. He lives for fighting.
‘So my perception about him not wanting to drop down a level — he was quite happy, because he loves the sport.
‘He would be happy fighting four or six-rounders. That love of the sport is why, partly, this fight was made.
‘Both fighters got offered more money to go to america — three or four times as much money.
‘But they both wanted to unify the division. Their camp think Indongo can beat Burns, we believe ricky can beat him — and that’s why we’re here.
‘ricky’s confidence had been completely broken after the fights against Terence Crawford, ray Beltran and Zlaticanin. now he believes again, he goes into fights believing he can win.’
recalling the harsh reality that confronted both promoter and fighter after that Zlaticanin loss, Hearn pointed to the small crowd at Braehead for the ‘comeback’ fight as he confessed: ‘That’s when you think, as a promoter, that not only is ricky Burns done — but the crowd is done, as well.
‘We went from 8,000 to 3,500 at Braehead. I was thinking: “Jesus”. now we’ve come back — and this will be right up there, in crowd terms, with the likes of the Crawford fight. They come out, they support their own, and they should do — because this is a massive fight for him.’
Burns, who actually celebrated his 34th birthday yesterday, has worked wonders since stepping up a weight division, showing plenty of skill and class to match the bravery and dedication he has always brought to every bout.
On his return to the top of a brutal game, he said yesterday: ‘People wrote me off after a couple of defeats. But I would be the first to admit if I didn’t have it any more.
‘Everyone who knows me understands if I didn’t enjoy the hard work, the training, the fighting, I wouldn’t be doing it.
‘This is the biggest fight of my career. The unification fights have been talked about so much during my career, at featherweight and super featherweight — but now it’s finally here.’
The first world unification bout in the history of Scottish boxing makes for one hell of a story. For Burns, though, it feels like just another step towards the prize he’s always craved — a crack at the bright lights of Las Vegas.
Hearn claimed: ‘Everyone is phoning up from america telling us not to do anything without speaking to them first, saying: “If you win this fight, please talk to us next”. Whether it’s Crawford, Broner, all those guys, they’re saying the same thing.
‘We talked after the (Michele) Di rocco win about ricky getting that adrien Broner fight. With two or three belts, it makes it a certainty. But ricky isn’t worrying about what comes next. He just wants to be a unified champion.
‘There are a few chapters left in this tale, though, without a doubt. This is the most important chapter.’
The famously unpredictable Broner is reported to be attending tomorrow night’s bout, although Hearn cautioned: ‘They told me that last time.
‘They really want to make sure they jump on the fight after this one — so I would advise him to come.’
“I thought after Zlaticanin loss it was all over ”