Burns and McDonnell in the States

[handsofstone]

2 cracking fights this weekend I'm looking forward to both of them,its always good to see our boys fight over there,both guys have world championship experience and aren't being fed to the wolves

Burns fighting unbeaten former WBC LW champ Omar Figueroa top of the bill and its surely gotta be last chance saloon for Ricky,as much as I've loved watching his career,its pretty clear to see he's finished at this level,Figueroa is a fighter I've enjoyed watching, he's a busy little fighter who likes to get stuck in,this is his first fight at LWW so I don't know how much his power will carry up and if he'll be able to push Burns back who was a big LW,as much as it pains me to say it I see Ricky taking a bit of a beating, I don't think Figueroa can KO him but I reckon he'll beat Ricky to the punch time and again and will be another opponent who will make Burns look shot,although there will be no doubting Burns heart and he'll probably show his best work when its too late

McDonnell's fight with unbeaten Tomoki Kameda isn't a unification anymore as the WBO won't accept Jamie's WBA Regular belt as unification worthy so just McDonnell's paper belt on the line,this fight should be more competitive especially with Jamie's size he's massive for a BW,Kameda's a great fighter whose starting to make a name for himself in the US but I wasn't impressed when I watched his last fight,McDonnell is deseptively good ,doesn't always shine but always wins,I give him a real chance here and am gonna go with him edging it on points

[Yes We Can]

2 cracking fights this weekend I'm looking forward to both of them,its always good to see our boys fight over there,both guys have world championship experience and aren't being fed to the wolves

Burns fighting unbeaten former WBC LW champ Omar Figueroa top of the bill and its surely gotta be last chance saloon for Ricky,as much as I've loved watching his career,its pretty clear to see he's finished at this level,Figueroa is a fighter I've enjoyed watching, he's a busy little fighter who likes to get stuck in,this is his first fight at LWW so I don't know how much his power will carry up and if he'll be able to push Burns back who was a big LW,as much as it pains me to say it I see Ricky taking a bit of a beating, I don't think Figueroa can KO him but I reckon he'll beat Ricky to the punch time and again and will be another opponent who will make Burns look shot,although there will be no doubting Burns heart and he'll probably show his best work when its too late

McDonnell's fight with unbeaten Tomoki Kameda isn't a unification anymore as the WBO won't accept Jamie's WBA Regular belt as unification worthy so just McDonnell's paper belt on the line,this fight should be more competitive especially with Jamie's size he's massive for a BW,Kameda's a great fighter whose starting to make a name for himself in the US but I wasn't impressed when I watched his last fight,McDonnell is deseptively good ,doesn't always shine but always wins,I give him a real chance here and am gonna go with him edging it on points

actually im pretty sure both ARE being fed to the wolves, Ricky isn't going to make Eddie money without a world title, and his skint as feck as well so despite an abysmal run of form theyve chucked him in with a world class guy in a weight he looked terrible at.

Mcdonnell isnt going to make eddie money whether he has a world title or not, and this is likely a fight to get on Al Haymons better side for the time being whilst hoping Jamie can maybe sneak a bit of a miracle.

[magnus]

Why does "going abroad to fight a quality opponent" often automatically become "thrown to the wolves" for many British boxing fans? I'm not just on about the two examples above, there's a lot of it about at the moment.

As I said in another thread about McDonnell we should be expecting fighters who aspire to world class to sometimes travel and compete against top level opposition. If they lose, then maybe they weren't good enough and might learn something. I'd rather see McDonnell lose against Kameda then continue to defend his two-bob title against unknowns.

[handsofstone]

TBF Burns has had his fare share of chances since signing with Eddie,he got a gift of a draw against Beltran,Crawford was a mandatory and a good one at that,Zlaticanin was an opportunity for Ricky to get a shot at the WBC which he lost,he was poor against Lepelley last time and probably doesn't really deserve to be headlining one of Al Haymon's shows in America against a well respected,unbeaten,former world titlist

This is a great opportunity for Burns to shine on the biggest stage of all and its up to him to take it,he sure can't complain Hearn hasn't got him opportunities,Burns is a tough fighter and I expect he's grateful to Eddie for getting him this fight

[ThereByTheGrace]

Tough night for both but better them fighting abroad in hard fights that in mismatches. God knows both of them have had plenty of them in the past. Burns has a good chin never been stopped could see the corner pulling him out in second half if Figueroa starts to dominate.

[littlepug]

They might not of had much choice in the matter but both deserve props for traveling over for tough matches and wether they do or not you can be sure both are going for the win. By the way is this on the Alvarez undercard ?

[handsofstone]

2 options,you can stay at home and fight walkovers or you can go to the big league and fight the best

I know which one a world class boxer with real aspirations should do,Both guys have defended their belts before against opponents who aren't nowhere near world class now they will get respect win or lose whereas before you didn't even get any respect for a win

[ScottDetonator]

Good fights featuring Burns and McDonnell on Sky tonight. The Birmingham card is pretty much walkovers.

I think Burns will get battered to be honest. I'd think inside 8 rounds.

McDonnell though, I'm giving a chance. Be interesting to see what Boxing Prospect and Datsue make of the Japanese fighter, Komeda. How good is he? Does McDonnell have a chance here?

[jameswilson]

I'v also been keen to find out the purses for this one and they don't seem to have (or I can't find them anyway) been made public like other US fights have. Anyone have any idea if any info is out there?

[dalcumly]

I'm intrigued about Burns' management decision to take the fight with Figeroa ( was it only about money ??)

Ricky is not a puncher, I can't recall the last time he put ANYONE down. So it was unlikely he'd win by a stoppage. It was probable therefore, that if Ricky was going to win, he'd need to get a decision. Who would expect 3 Texan judges and a Texan referee to 'allow' the local star to lose such an important contest , so why did the manager allow this ??

It was close, but I gave 5 clear rounds to Burns. The rest might have went to Figeroa, but just to make sure, the referee took 2 points from the visitor. I find it sickening that a in the second last round of a big fight, with a boxer in trouble and hanging on for dear life, a referee should deduct a point for holding !! Good, experienced referees just don't do that sort of thing- they understand what's happening and have a degree of sympathy for the struggling boxer. This was just an example of a local ref, believing that the fight might be close, and deciding to 'put the boot in ' .

Superb performance from Burns, he might have lost - just , but he's certainly not finished.

[Boxing Prospect]

Good fights featuring Burns and McDonnell on Sky tonight. The Birmingham card is pretty much walkovers.

I think Burns will get battered to be honest. I'd think inside 8 rounds.

McDonnell though, I'm giving a chance. Be interesting to see what Boxing Prospect and Datsue make of the Japanese fighter, Komeda. How good is he? Does McDonnell have a chance here?

He's better than he showed but the arrogance and fool hardness of the Kameda blood runs through him. Had he had half a brain in his head he'd have fought in the 12th round rather than been a complete imbecile. I scored it 114-113 to Kameda but have no argument at all with McDonnell winning. McDonnell wanted the win and it showed, Tomoki expected the win and didn't grit his teeth in a very close bout.

[Stuarty]

Pretty gutted that Ricky never got a fair shake. The ref and judges were criminal but hey ho! Even though he lost he still comes out with a lot of credit. He now looks to be well and truly over his broken jaw. Done himself proud last night and reignited his career.

[Londonirish]

Jamie McD

[palooka]

Pretty gutted that Ricky never got a fair shake. The ref and judges were criminal but hey ho! Even though he lost he still comes out with a lot of credit. He now looks to be well and truly over his broken jaw. Done himself proud last night and reignited his career.

I agree Stuart, he is still a very competitive boxer, got some real bottle, when the ref took the 2nd point I'd how he held his temper I don't know - I'd have had to have told the cheating twat.

[Stuarty]

Pretty gutted that Ricky never got a fair shake. The ref and judges were criminal but hey ho! Even though he lost he still comes out with a lot of credit. He now looks to be well and truly over his broken jaw. Done himself proud last night and reignited his career.

I agree Stuart, he is still a very competitive boxer, got some real bottle, when the ref took the 2nd point I'd how he held his temper I don't know - I'd have had to have told the cheating twat.

Yeah same mate. I was on my feet in the living room foaming at the mouth lol. He said on his Twitter page that he's going back to lightweight. I wonder how much of a struggle that will be for him? 5 foot 10 and 32yo. Isn't going to be easy.

[wesshaw1985]

Burns vs. Molina Jr
McDonnell vs. Iwasa

next for me...

[Boxing Prospect]

Iwasa has strongly hinted he wants a rematch with Yamanaka, the avenge his sole loss. Would be good to see McDonnell vs him though, or Omori.

[crusader]

Finally watched the fights.

I have no idea why some people thought Burns was robbed; he fought better than I expected him to given his recent form but Figueroa won it 115-111 in my opinion. I had Kameda beating McD by a point but I think it was the epitome of a fight that could've gone either way, and boxing would benefit from more even match-ups like that.

[Webbo911]

Didn't score the fight but thought Figuaroa nicked it after the point deductions. Hopefully Burns has got enough left in the tank to take part in some big domestic clashes at light welter, think all of the current belt holders beat him easy.

Ref was pissing me off in a major way. Are they aloud to grab fighters arms like that? Surely it's break or fight it out?

[danamba7]

Finally watched the fights.

I have no idea why some people thought Burns was robbed; he fought better than I expected him to given his recent form but Figueroa won it 115-111 in my opinion. I had Kameda beating McD by a point but I think it was the epitome of a fight that could've gone either way, and boxing would benefit from more even match-ups like that.

Figueroa definitely won, especially with the deductions. Shame though as personally i think it was quite clear who the better boxer was, Figueroa just imposed his strength and will on Burns.

[straali]

Figueroa looked an absolute beast in there - must have been carrying a fair few lbs weight advantage over Ricky. Thought the ref was a disgrace. Tapping fighters on the shoulder or slightly pulling them away - what is that about? Figueroa boring in to make it an inside fight was clealry his sole tactic as he showed no indication of being remotely in the same class as Burns as distance so I think, while one point deduction may have been appropriate, the second was a joke.

[Emmseegee]

Personally I think Burns done enough to win with the exception of the point deductions which were rather unfair. If the ref had treated both fighters as equals then Fig would have also had points deducted. He was being allowed to lead with his head, lean on burns against the ropes and punch behind the head. All tactics that burns was also succeeding with but being told off by the referee when he did. If the referee was fair then both fighters would have either fought it out as equals on the inside until one man couldnt handle the pace or the referee would have to have repeatedly broke them up and turned it into a boxing match at which point Burns would have strolled it.

No matter what anyone says on here or elsewhere I cant help but think that the referee robbed Burns. Judges can see fights differently and can only score the fight that they see infront of them but that is without a doubt the most I have ever seen a referee interfere with a fight at that level. Ridiculous.