[Video] Terence Crawford Wins First World Title, Defeats Ricky Burns

GLASGOW, SCOTLAND — It was only a matter of time. For his past two fights, Ricky Burns had been living on “borrowed time” when it came to his WBO title reign. In 2013, he was a recipient of lucky breaks in the form of Jose Gonzalez quitting due to an injured wrist in a fight he was dominating, and Ray Beltran being robbed of a decision victory in a bout where he broke Burns’ jaw. Last night Burns sought redemption, for his title reign and his status as an elite fighter, but ran into a superior opponent in Terence Crawford, who overcame a slow start to cruise to a wide unanimous decision win and his first world title (117-111, 116-112 twice).

EARLY NERVES: Both fighters were tight in the initial rounds and appeared to be feeling the “weight” of the moment. Crawford showed his nervous energy by having a lot of wasted movement and needlessly switching between orthodox and southpaw. Burns, besides a look of caution on his face, was telegraphing his power shots.

Despite neither fighter doing much “clean” work, Burns’ only clear round was the second. The others, despite being competitive, had Crawford looking like the more composed fighter who was controlling the action.

ROUND 5 AND ON…: Before the fifth, Burns was able to confine Crawford’s offense to bursts of punching. But starting in the fifth, Crawford began coming forward with hooks to the body and driving Burns back into ropes. From that position, all Burns could do was cover up and hold.

That fight would fall into this pattern with Burns flailing wildly at ring center, and Crawford countering well and working the body inside. The crowd was soon silenced and Burns would have no real adjustments or answers.

RECOILING FROM PUNISHMENT: Burns showed massive heart and pain tolerance in going the distance with a broken jaw against Beltran. That battle seemed to have mentally damaged Burns, because Crawford’s shots had him shying away from exchanges and going into full retreat whenever he was hit flush. As Jim Watt pointed out in the broadcast, it’s very possible Burns wasn’t fully confident in his durability after experiencing such a career-threatening injury.

NOT SPECTACULAR, BUT EFFICIENT: If you’ve never seen Crawford before, there’s a chance you weren’t overwhelmingly impressed with him. There were no flashy combinations, otherworldly speed nor bone-crushing power. What he brought to the ring last night was technical proficiency in every area and no reckless mistakes. This gave Burns no chance to get back into the fight with a miracle shot.

Will Crawford ever become a pay-per-view attraction? Probably not. But he has the type of skills that leads to a long, productive career. More importantly, he has the correct mentality to highlight his skills. He did what Adrien Broner should have done when he was at lightweight and had the chance — go across the pond and meet the tenured champion (and bigger draw) on his home turf.

This win will put Crawford’s confidence through the roof and possibly be the start of a dominant lightweight reign.

WHAT’S NEXT FOR BURNS?: A lot of UK fans were very sad for Burns as this was his big chance to re-solidify his title reign. Nonetheless, the matchups are still there. On the domestic front, a showdown with Anthony Crolla would do numbers, as would a rematch with Ray Beltran. Gary Buckland, who just beat Gavin Rees, could be a target to help Burns get some of his confidence back. And let’s not forget the rugged John Murray, who demolished an undersized John Simpson on the undercard.

Burns might be out the title picture, but his career is far from over if he still has the fire to compete.