Ricky Burns backs Anthony Crolla to claim career-best win over Jorge Linares
Wednesday 21 September 2016 16:45, UK
Ricky Burns fully expects Anthony Crolla to continue his remarkable success story with a career-best win over Jorge Linares.
The Mancunian overcame career-threatening injuries to claim the WBA lightweight title and will next face three-weight world champion Linares at the Manchester Arena on Saturday night, live on Sky Sports.
Burns, the current WBA super-lightweight champion, has watched Crolla's resurgence with admiration and backed the home favourite to come through his toughest test.
"It's a great fight," Burns told Sky Sports. "Obviously Anthony is a really nice guy and I get on really well with him.
Don't get me wrong, there are going to be some hard times during this fight.
"Everything he has got, he's worked hard for and he deserves it. I just cannot see him losing. I think he's going to go out and do a job on Linares.
"Don't get me wrong, there are going to be some hard times during this fight, he's(Linares) a very silky boxer. Obviously when he boxed Kevin, you could see that.
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"But I just think Anthony - the wins that he's had - his confidence is sky-high. The momentum that he's got going right now, I just think he's going to get the job done."
Crolla suffered a fractured skull in a confrontation with burglars, but was world champion within a year after halting Darleys Perez in a rematch, and defended it with another stoppage win over Ismael Barroso in May.
Burns knows all about injury anguish after breaking his jaw in a 2013 draw with Raymundo Beltran and even joked that Crolla's rapid rise could lead to a domestic clash with himself.
"Same as myself, he's had his setbacks, but he's kept the head down, kept at it, kept in the gym and hard work pays off," said Burns.
"I've always said, although I'm up at light-welter now, lightweight is still an option, so Anthony get out there and get the job done."
Watch Crolla v Linares live on Sky Sports 2 from 7.30pm this Saturday
