Just days after promoter Frank Warren announced that Ricky Burns’ lightweight unification match with Miguel Vazquez had been rescheduled for April 20, Burns’ manager Alex Morrison has officially announced his fighter’s departure from Warren’s stable.
Morrison confirmed the split exclusively to The Scotsman, citing the delays and cancellations of Burns’s last two fights as the deciding factors in the split.
I regret it has come to this because I have known Frank for nearly 40 years, but it has to be for Ricky’s sake. I felt we had to do something to stop Ricky stagnating. Two fights have been called off after he has trained hard for them and it was not even certain that the bout with Vazquez would have gone ahead on 20 April. In fact, I now doubt very much that fight was ever going to happen.
Vazquez had submitted a doctor’s note citing a viral infection as the reason the postponement. However, Morrison claims to have seen YouTube footage of Vazquez training during the period Vazquez claimed to be on bed rest.
Burns is the second notable fighter to leave Warren this week. On Monday, George Groves left Warren to sign an exclusive deal with rival promoter Eddie Hearn’s Matchroom.
At press time, Frank Warren has not released a statement on Burns’ departure.
