One fight at a time is song for Burns
RiCKY BURnS insists his move to light-welterweight will be based on a policy of one fight at a time.
The 32-year-old faces alexandre lepelley in leeds tomorrow night in a fight he hopes will be the first step to a historic third world title in three different weight divisions.
lepelley is rated no.8 by the EBU, and victory could take the Coatbridge fighter to the cusp of a European title fight and the claiming of a belt he has so far failed to annex.
Burns, a former WBO lightweight and superfeatherweight champion, is confident he can reclaim former glories against the Frenchman and turn the first page on an exciting new chapter in his 13-year pro career.
he said: “People are going to see a strong Ricky Burns tomorrow, but this is the first fight at lightwelterweight.
“i need to take it one fight at a time to settle down at 140lbs.
“it’s a great weight division and even at domestic level there are some big fights to be made.
“But first i want to get lepelley out of the way and we’ll start to see where we are going to go.
“There are big fights out there domestically and on the world scene, but winning this fight is the key to getting to them.
“lepelley is an experienced fighter with a good record and the fact he is ranked up at eight in the EBU underlines that.
“To beat a guy with that type of ranking in my first fight at 140lbs would be a great start to life at light-welterweight.”
Burns’ jump in weight class was prompted by a disastrous split-decision defeat in June at the hands of Montenegrin dejan Zlaticanin.
This is his second fight under the guidance of Englishman Tony Sims.