Commonwealth super-featherweight champion Ricky Burns insists that he is more than ready to take on WBO champion Rocky Martinez.
Commonwealth champion eyes shot at WBO title
Commonwealth super-featherweight champion Ricky Burns insists that he is more than ready to take on WBO champion Rocky Martinez.
Burns is hoping that a third success defence of his belt against Kevin O'Hara at the Bellahouston Sports Centre in Glasgow on Friday will see him climb the rankings.
And although Kevin Mitchell is the next in line for a shot at the Puerto Rican, who beat Nicky Cook to win the title, Burns is happy to pass the current British champion and go straight for the top.
"I want Mitchell but if he's not up for the scrap then I want Martinez," said 26-year-old Burns.
"I'm ranked number four by the WBO at the moment, so I could be in line for a crack at Martinez without having to go through Mitchell first.
"And I'm really confident that I could beat Martinez - in fact, I'd run rings around him.
"I was impressed with the way in which he dealt Nicky Cook, but Cook was winning that fight until he got caught with a good punch.
"I wouldn't make the same kind of mistake against Martinez, and I'd love to get him over to Scotland and box his head off.
"We had a Scottish WBO super-featherweight champion in Alex Arthur, and I can bring that title back here if I'm given my opportunity."
Burns has won 26 of his 28 fights as a pro - and he insists he has developed massively since dropping decisions to Arthur and Carl Johanneson.
"I've got two defeats on my record, but people forget that when I lost to Arthur and Carl Johanneson I was young and inexperienced," said Burns.
"In the last couple of years I've really come on, and I've improved so much in my last six or seven fights."
