Jim Watt expects Ricky Burns to come through his first defence in style - and stay a world champion for a while.
Unassuming Burns can be Scotland's new star
Ricky Burns' performance in winning the world title was way beyond anything I thought he was capable of. He literally seemed to become world-class overnight.
He was the number one contender for Roman Martinez's WBO belt but anybody I spoke to wondered why and because he'd lost against the two best fighters he'd faced - Carl Johanneson and Alex Arthur - very few gave him a chance.
Well no-one his questioning him now. In that one night he went from one extreme to the other. And I've got to say being a world champion has not changed him one bit. He almost looks embarrassed by it, in fact. I am pretty sure he has gone back to work in a sports shop as he did before and you get the feeling he would rather just be treated the same.
We all know the phrase 'it couldn't happen to a nicer bloke', well I don't know of anybody that applies to more than Ricky, I really don't.
It's difficult to know what to expect from him in his first defence because usually we expect fighters to grow once they have become world champions but I really don't see how he can get any better than that Martinez performance! He made a real leap that night and it would be unfair of him to do the same again; if he does, then poor old Andreas Evensen is in for a tough night.
What I like about Burns in the ring is he proved he can take a punch. There is no doubting his boxing ability, but when you move up to this level that is one thing you need. We saw it even in defeat against Johanneson and we certainly saw it against Martinez when he got up off the floor, and even in the second half of the fight had to take some of his best shots.
He is tall for a super-featherweight and he has always used those physical advantages but it is such a help when you know you are hard to hurt. He will have a big height advantage, some five inches, over Evensen but I don't think that will come into play here.
From what I have seen of Evensen he is aggressive, he will come forward bobbing and weaving and will pretty much be on Ricky as often as he can. But the big problem he has is he has come up from featherweight and when you get to this level, that really does make a difference.
But he will be used to sparring guys bigger than him so he will not be easily deterred. The only name I really recognise on his record is Benoit Gaudet - who went on to fight for a world title - and he lost that. So much like Ricky, his biggest fight has an 'L' next to it and much like Ricky, this is his one shot at glory.
Confidence
I can't see a repeat though, I can't see him pulling off a performance and a result like Burns did. I would expect Ricky to keep him at long-range, use those skills and when he's in control, maybe do some damage. He is not the biggest puncher but that is irrelevant because he is a world champion, not some Commonwealth title hopeful.
It also means Burns, like all fighters who don't expect a knockout, is always supremely fit because he expects it to go the full 12 rounds. And I have to say, he is punching with more and more confidence these days - as you would expect.
Sheer workrate and volume of punches could bring about an early stoppage but at the very least I can see Burns getting the decision. The two styles should make for an entertaining fight and I really hope that is the case. I also hope the weather has improved up here in Scotland because I would love a full house at the Braehead Arena.
Not since Scott Harrison have we had a Scottish boxer who has built up a real following and I hope the public brave the snow to come and see him. He doesn't court publicity - certainly not like Harrison - and he even though he is a world champion, we never see his face in the papers.
But he has a chance to really establish himself as a world champion because in all honesty the super-featherweight division right now is nothing special. It is certainly nothing like a few years ago when you had Manny Pacquiao, Juan-Manuel Marquez, Erik Morales and Marco Antonio Barrera, that's for sure.
Ricky could have a decent reign as a world champion - although I don't expect to hear talk of unification fights any time soon - and that would be great for Scottish boxing. I genuinely hope that's the case, because as I say, it couldn't happen to a nicer lad.
