JULIUS INDONGO’S camp have stoked up the tension ahead of Saturday’s world title unification fight with Ricky Burns by accusing the Scot of benefiting from home-town decisions.
‘The Rickster’ will put his WBA super lightweight title on the line against the unbeaten holder of the IBO and IBF straps when they clash in Glasgow.
But his Namibian opponent’s trainer Nestor Tobias has appealed to the judges not to let their decision be swayed by the noisy crowd at the SSE Hydro.
WEIGH-IN & FACE OFF | @ricksterko v Julius Indongo. WBA Super, IBF & IBO World 140lbs Titles are on the line tomorrow night! #BurnsIndongo pic.twitter.com/SRz5FprYYu
— Matchroom Boxing (@MatchroomBoxing) April 14, 2017
Indongo’s compatriot Paulus Moses took on the Coatbridge fighter back in 2012, but went down unanimously on points at the Braehead Arena.
Like this weekend’s clash, Tobias was in the opposite corner from Burns that night but insists the Scot did not deserve the handsome 119–110,120–110,117–111 scorecard he received from the three judges.
The cornerman’s claims comes as Indongo wrecked his chances of receiving a warm welcome from the home supporters by aiming a throat-slitting gesture at Burns as the public weight-in, which saw both men comfortably register under the 10 stone limit.
Tobias said: “I know there are two UK officials on the panel but we just hope the judges are going to score the fight in the ring.
“I was here before in 2012 when I brought Paulus Moses to fight Ricky Burns. The fight was very close but the margin of the scoring was not. That’s not good for boxing.
“I don’t want to talk about the officials after the fight – we just want to celebrate a great fight.”
Indongo is making only his second ever professional appearance outside of his homeland but will be hoping for a similar result to his first foreign jaunt, which saw the southpaw stun Russian Eduard Troyanovsky inside 40 seconds in Moscow to claim his belts last December
Times for @ricksterko vs Julius Indongo 15.04.17
1700: Doors open
1705: Event starts
1930: On Air – Sky Sports
2330: Event finishes pic.twitter.com/23iFJQR9AJ— The SSE Hydro (@TheSSEHydro) April 13, 2017
The former Olympian has already dismissed suggestions Burns’ boisterous fans could hamper his own display but Burns is not so sure.
The 34-year-old – already the first Scottish boxer to have won world titles at three different weights – now hopes to become his country’s first ever unified champion and is counting on his backers to turn up the volume levels.
“I don’t think he will have ever experienced anything like what the punters at the Hydro have in store for him,” smiled Burns. “I watched the fight when he won his titles but the crowd in Russia were a tad quiet compared to what it’s going to be like on Saturday.”
Burns celebrated his latest birthday on Thursday as he moved into the veteran category.
But ahead of what he is describing as the biggest fight of his career, he stressed he has no plans to quit just yet – understandably so with a potential Vegas superfight with Adrien Broner the reward should he come through his Indongo scrape unscathed.
“I keep telling everybody that I’ll keep going on,” said Burns. “I’m still feeling great.
“The hunger is still there and that’s what you need to drive yourself on. It’s a much tougher fight but when I sat down with my trainer Tony Sims, we realised the rewards are much better.”
