Warren hopes Burns can win title
Frank Warren is hoping Ricky Burns contributes to a resurgence in Scottish sport when he takes on Puerto Rico's WBO world super-featherweight champion Roman Martinez at Glasgow's Kelvin Hall on September 4.
The night before the Coatbridge boxer gets his long-awaited title chance against the unbeaten Martinez, Craig Levein's tenure as Scotland manager begins in earnest with the 2012 European Championship qualifier in Lithuania. After the Scots missed out on this summer's World Cup in South Africa, hopes are high that Levein can qualify the national team for its first major tournament since 1998.
Promoter Warren is hoping a boost to the country's football fortunes can be followed up by Scotland embracing its next boxing world champion. At a press conference in Glasgow to announce the event, the Englishman was confident that the 2000-capacity arena will be full to see Burns triumph. Warren said: "I would hope so. Why shouldn't there be (a capacity crowd)? It's a big sporting weekend."
He added: "The day before you have the new Scotland football manager getting the first (qualifying) match under his belt so they will be looking for big things from him. The next night we have our guy in there and hopefully he will do the business.
"So it could be a big weekend for sport for Scotland. We are back with a big one. We are giving Ricky Burns the opportunity to win the title in his own backyard. It has taken us a long, long time to get it together.
"We were waiting on dates from television. We had problems with the Puerto Ricans but everyone has been patient and I think their patience has paid off. Martinez was very reluctant to come over but at the end of the day we made him an offer, as they say, that he couldn't refuse which was a big bag of money."
Warren added: "Ricky has been very good. I know there has been times when he has been despondent and maybe thought his career was going in a different direction, but I promised him I would deliver this fight and I did. He could become the next big name in Scotland - not just as a boxer but as a sportsman."
Burns, 27, with just two losses in 30 bouts, is happy to accept the challenge. "Scotland needs another world champion to get the Scottish fight fans back and I believe I am the man for the job," he said.
"I'm the same as every wee boy who puts the gloves on - I dreamt of a world title. I have been given a great chance by Frank and my manager Alex Morrison and it's up to me to deliver.
"The Kelvin Hall is where I had my first professional fight and now I have a chance to win the world title there. I get a good following from Coatbridge but now I have to get the whole of Scotland behind me and I think I can do it."
Date published :
24 Jun 2010 - 17:21:16
