Ryan Burnett expected dream world title fight to be cut short

RYAN BURNETTย had expected his world-title fight with Lee Haskins to be stopped in the opening rounds because of the cuts suffered by each fighter in the second.

An accidental clash of heads opened significant wounds over both fightersโ€™ right eyes โ€” new IBF bantamweight champion Burnettโ€™s bled heavily โ€” and his trainer Adam Booth responded by telling him he only had two more rounds to fulfil his dream.

The 25-year-old then continued the sharp and exceptional performance he had threatened from the opening bell, outclassing and outpointing the proven champion at Belfastโ€™s Odyssey Arena and potentially ending the underrated Haskinsโ€™ career at world level.

Burnett is unlikely to return until October or November to allow his cut to properly heal, and he said: โ€œThis was the first time Iโ€™d ever experienced that, but me and Adam have gone over this situation before.

โ€œWhen it happened, it was as if itโ€™s happened before; I knew exactly how to deal with it. Thatโ€™s why I didnโ€™t pay no attention to it, even when the blood was in my eyes and I couldnโ€™t see. It didnโ€™t faze me at all.

โ€œWe knew my speed would give me a bit of an advantage: that was something weโ€™d worked on in camp.

โ€œItโ€™s something special. Iโ€™m in a position now where I can go on and give myself and my family a good life if I keep doing what Iโ€™m doing, and at the end of the day thatโ€™s what itโ€™s all about.

 

โ€œI havenโ€™t been home in two-and-a-half months. I just want to go home to my family. Weโ€™re in a great position now: we can make these good fights, and itโ€™s all there for me. I turned 25 two weeks ago: Iโ€™ve still got so much to learn.โ€

Booth had said: โ€œI told Ryan after the [cuts in the] second round, โ€˜This fightโ€™s not going 12 rounds, youโ€™re both cut too badly, win every moment of the next two rounds because itโ€™s going to go to a technical decisionโ€™. The referee [Marcus McDonnell] did an immaculate job.โ€

The only other blemish on Burnettโ€™s evening came when one of the three judges scored Haskins a 118-108 winner despite Haskins also suffering knockdowns in the sixth and 11th rounds.

His promoter Eddie Hearn later revealed Clark Sammartino, of America, had mistaken the two fightersโ€™ identities, while Booth spoke of how Burnettโ€™s win had surpassed even those he had overseen for the world heavyweight title with David Haye.

โ€œHe was magnificent, because Lee Haskins is not easy to out-trick and out-box, and thatโ€™s exactly what he did for 12 rounds,โ€ said the trainer, who also led Irelandโ€™s Andy Lee to the WBO middleweight title.

โ€œI havenโ€™t had a world champion after only 17 pro fights whoโ€™s performed like that.

โ€œEverything with David Haye, at cruiserweight, heavyweight, and Andy Lee at middleweight, itโ€™s all special, but thereโ€™s something about what Ryan has achieved: Iโ€™m pretty sure Iโ€™ll never see that again with a fighter after only 16 pro fights.โ€

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