Phil D. Jay
WBN Editor
WBN Editor
‘Marvellous’ one saw great things in young Scotsman
Ricky Burns’ manager Alex Morrison has given an insight into
the reason he signed a scrawny Coatbridge kid at the start of his career and
sites former world middleweight king Marvin Hagler as a massive influence on his decision.
Morrison and Hagler was present at the Kelvin Hall in
October 2001 when the then 18 year-old Burns made his professional boxing debut
in a dominant four-round win over Woody Greenaway on the Robin Reid v Jorge
Sclarandi WBF super-middleweight title undercard. Hagler saw something in the
youngster that prompted him to persuade Morrison to pursue the novice and the
rest, as they say, is history.
“Marvin saw Ricky win on his debut and told me he would
become a world champ,” Morrison told The
Daily Record.
“He said I had to sign him but Ricky has done even better
than Hagler predicted. He has become a champion at two different weights.”
Ten years on and Burns, 29, makes another defence of his WBO title at lightweight when the ‘Rickster’ battles
former interim title challenger Kevin Mitchell at the Scottish Exhibition Centre on Saturday night.
Burns goes into the fight a slight favourite to win the so-called 'Battle of Britain' and is undefeated since losing a one-side
decision to a peak Carl Johanneson in 2007, improving with every fight along the way.