Burns should have took on Broner instead of Katsidis

[Cas]

Broner was a winnable fight for him. He's now moving up in weight, taking on a durable opponent in Katsidis who took Mitchell out without to much problems.

Sure Burns had up step up in opposition, but Katsidis is a big ask for him.

Can't help think this is a bad decision and will backfire horribly for him.

Katsidis inside 6 rounds.

[Gazmac81]

Maybe he really cant make the weight comfortable

i see this fight isnt for the full title which i thought it was

still good fight anyway and burns can do it if on top form

Broner was a winnable fight for him. He's now moving up in weight, taking on a durable opponent in Katsidis who took Mitchell out without to much problems.

Sure Burns had up step up in opposition, but Katsidis is a big ask for him.

Can't help think this is a bad decision and will backfire horribly for him.

Katsidis inside 6 rounds.

[toomanyshots]

C'mon guy's you should know better...Mr Warren will have options on Katsidis and not on Broner.......Makes financial sense

[earsjohn]

C'mon guy's you should know better...Mr Warren will have options on Katsidis and not on Broner.......Makes financial sense

Exactly.

Burns wins, he takes on Mitchell.

Katsidis wins, he takes on Mitchell.

[mahatma]

this fight is nothing to do with opponent its about the fact that ricky cant make super feather its better to step up and be strong than boil down and be weak, i think he would of lost against broner if he'd made the weight but stands a 50/50 chance against katsidis, as he'll be strong hydrated etc but i accept that its not an easy fight by any means but katsidis has lost when he stepped up to world level before and was nearly out against graham earl before earls corner pulled him out and it was a young unknown ricky burns who beat graham earl quite comprehensively, so swings and roundabouts but burns will be a better fighter at lightweight

[Eddy]

Reply to Cass's 1st post. "this could back fire on him" That's the whole point of boxing mate, hard fights. You don't want Burns in fights that he'll win easy or you'll think will get through. Like saying you want to watch Man U play Wigan instead of Chelsea, because Chelsea will be a tougher game. The harder the fight the better for us to watch as fans WTF?

[JimJim2009]

I wonder if Burns will regret this choice if Katisdis beats him ?

His fight in America with Bronner would have got major coverage in America, he'd have returned home a conquering hero had he managed to defeat Bronner. Instead, he is facing Katsidis on an obscure channel in the UK. allegedly is great for fans prepared to pay £10 a month, and its unbelievably great for the promoter I imagine (until maybe actual revenues fall short of projected ones, but I hope that doesn't happen), but for the boxers themselves, its a step towards further obscurity, in terms of limited exposure to the wider sports public.

Anyway I agree with the poster who created this thread and I think Burns might regret this course of action...

[twenty six]

There is absolutely no doubt in my mind that Team Burns have avoided Broner, because Ricky would have lost comfortably.
Which begs the question, is the new task against Katsidis any easier ?
Long odds in my view, but shorter than against Broner.
I wish him all the best and I'll be rooting for him - but this is a big ask.

[alexpaterson]

I genuinely don't think he is running from Broner. I think he struggles with the weight and felt a move up would benefit him. Katsidis is such a hard first fight, but what a fight it'll be!!! Two warriors.

[Jeff Thomas]

I like Ricky and think Billy Nelson has done a fab job with him but I can't see how Ricky can win this. I do think he'll have the power to trouble Kats- Ricky can punch harder then people realise but in this fight you'll see a long rangy puncher against one of the best short punchers in the sport. Stylistically Kats is an awful fight for Ricky- though obviously I hope he pulls it off.

[handsofstone]

im a big fan of rickys but i also think nobody actually realises how good or bad he is yet,he was young when he got beat and he was outstanding when he beat martinez and he looked alright since against limited but durable opposition so this fights the one when we could be left in no doubt about what level hes at

[boxerbob]

regarding the fight.....i think ricky can and win the fight by doing something that nobody is expecting.....

standing right infront of katsidis , not backing off and pushing him back , ricky has the faster punch , longer reach and can mix it up on the inside.

if you stop katsidis from moving forward then you win the fight.

ricky certainly has the workrate to do this , he has much less miles on the clock and it remains to be seen how much the marquez and guerro fights have taken out of katsidis.

ricky must though shorten that slashing right hand as its my fear he is caught with a left hook.

i see ricky matching katsidis for 8-9 rounds then using his superior speed to be able to get in and out in the last few rounds to bulid up a decent points victory eg: 116-112.

ps: i think the holyfield vs tyson fight is blueprint to beat a short swarming style fighter , holyfield never backed off so he stopped tyson from moving forward , this made tyson very in-effective especially as the fight wore on. In the later rounds holyfield took contraol and was able to pick his punches.....ricky certainly has the strength , workrate , chin and desire to do this.

it could be fight of the year

[grannyman]

I really like Katsidis and I think he's still got the power to to make it awful for Burns, but I think Katsidis has been marking up easily lately and he's had hard battles which could start to show.

Good gamble from Burns as it's a great name to have on your CV, plus Katsidis has made a name for himself over here so it will always sell well.

[Josh1111]

Avoiding Broner to take on Katsidis doesn't make much sense.

Katsidis is bigger and far more proven. I had Broner losing his fight with Ponce De Leon, who is certainly the best fighter he's faced.

Completely agree with this. Not convinced by Broner myself and i think the Kat is a much tougher fight

[Wrists]

Swerving Broner to take on Katsidis!! Eff me I've heard it all now.

Its a great fight whichever way you care to dress it up.

Burns deserves all the credit in the world for this fight.

He continues to step up to the mark when required.

Well done to all concerned for making this fight.

I think its a tough ask but its a fight Burns can win

[BoxingAnalyst]

Ricky must of had trouble making the weight IMO. Broner would have been a winnable fight for Ricky, Katsidis on the other hand is not winnable. He is too strong and powerful for Burns, Ricky always backs up with his chin in the air and is easy to hit, he doesn't have the power to keep Katsidis off him either.

War Katsidis!

[billy nelson]

Ricky avoided nobody lads he struggled to much to make SFW,Ricky will win this fight with MK,people always make comparisons to Kevin's fight with MK, the thing is Ricky imo is a better fighter than Kevin and we hope to prove that 5th Nov.Ricky has also said he'd gladly fight Big Gob Broner at LW no prob.

[BoxingAnalyst]

Ricky avoided nobody lads he struggled to much to make SFW,Ricky will win this fight with MK,people always make comparisons to Kevin's fight with MK, the thing is Ricky imo is a better fighter than Kevin and we hope to prove that 5th Nov.Ricky has also said he'd gladly fight Big Gob Broner at LW no prob.

As you may know Billy I was one of the first to come out and say Ricky was ducking Broner, but Katsidis is twice the fight Broner is so fair play

[Tykemania]

There is absolutely no doubt in my mind that Team Burns have avoided Broner, because Ricky would have lost comfortably.
Which begs the question, is the new task against Katsidis any easier ?
Long odds in my view, but shorter than against Broner.
I wish him all the best and I'll be rooting for him - but this is a big ask.

I think if Broner had been coming to Scotland, they might have thought harder about it. But Katsidis makes sound sense for Ricky - yes, its no gimme fight at all, but Katsidis can be beaten provided the fighter stays with him past that early burst. There is also a massive difference as to what Burns gets out of the two - in the case of Broner, he loses he is left with not a lot to show, whereas if he wins a lot of people will say Broner was overhyped and had not really beaten anyone. Katsidis? If he wins, people will still accept that he represented a step up in class even if they point to his other defeats, whereas defeat still leaves Ricky marketable...

[Boxing Addict]

Broner would have been easier than Katsidis defo for anyone

Burns must be struggling at the weight or Warren could be using him as a scapegoat to build up a katsidis - mitchell rematch

I don't think he personally avoided Broner, who is not proven world class, Katsidis is bigger, more powerfull and gave hell to some of the best lb for lb fighters in the world - casamayor and Marquez, who has Broner beaten ?

Katsidis might do him early but saying that burns has got a great chin

I like Burns - real fan - i think he made the wrong choice not defending against Broner who has speed but not a really big puncher and relatively unexperienced. He had a good chance , whereas Katsidis I don't give him no chance

Good luck to the lad

[IRLangmaid25]

Ricky Burns was a big old Super-Featherweight standing at 5ft 10 so he must at times really breaking his balls to make 9 stone 4lbs and I think the extra 5 pounds in weight will help. I do agree that he is taking a considerable gamble in having first major fight at Lightweight in fighting Michael Katsidis who has been with former and current World Champions such as Robert Guerrero, Joel Casamayor, Juan Manuel Marquez and Julio Diaz, so he has the experience and has shown that he also has plenty of power and balls to as he demonstrated against Marquez, Kevin Mitchell and Graham Earl. I think Katsidis does have the power to give Burns a rough night, but if he works off the jab etc I reckon he will beat Katisdis and show he is a going to be a force at Lightweight.

[hitman_hatton1]

broner was a more intriguing match up.

we've seen plenty of katsidis and he's lost a few recently.

albeit against very good fighters.

broner was the flashy unproven prospect and burns had a world title to defend.

still pissed off it's gone west.

but not surprised.

[themadmariner]

I think Katsidis is a very tough fight for Burns and he deserves respect for taking it as his first fight at Lightweight.

I don't think he dodged broner because he hasn't exactly taken an easier fight in its place and it must be quite difficult to just give up a World Title.

Either way it should be a great fight between the 2 and if he wins it should put him in line for a World Title shot in the near future or even a big match up with Kevin Mitchell.

My only concern is that Burns hasn't had a 'tough' fight in over a year. He was roundly criticised for all 3 of his Title defences and the jump in class from those 3 fighters to Katsidis is a very big one.