Scot begins build up to March defence against Ghanaian
Ricky Burns says he is improving all the time as he goes back into training for the second defence of his WBO super-featherweight title.
The Scotsman takes on Joseph Laryea of Ghana on March 12 after the challenger gained a surprise victory over Paul Appleby in Glasgow last month.
Burns made his first defence on the same Braehead Arena bill when he defeated Andreas Evensen in a comprehensive points verdict.
The 27-year-old was initially critical of his performance against the inexperienced Dane, but now believes admits he is moving in the right direction as he gains confidence as one of Britain's four world champions.
"After the fight I thought I was a wee bit hard on myself, when I watched it back I actually boxed better than I thought," he told Sky Sports News.
"But I do seem to be getting better and better with every fight. Everyone knows I can box but in my last couple of fights I've shown I can go forward and fight as well.
"He put up a brave performance, I think I was trying to knock him out with every punch. I was getting a bit frustrated with myself a wee bit but over Christmas I recharged my batteries and i'm just looking forward to getting back into the ring."
Laryea has threatened to do a job on Burns but he said: "Talk is cheap - I prefer to do my talking in the ring, and when we get in there it will just be me and him and all the talking will go out the window. I'm sure it's going to be a hard fight though.
"You just have to look at his last fight against Paul Appleby, I think I was going to fight Paul next but Joseph gave Paul a hard time, boxed from the middle of the ring, and proved that he is right up there. So I'm expecting a hard 12 rounds.
Adapt
"I usually leave it to my trainer to study game plans, he just tells me what to do and I just try to put into operation - I don't usually like to watch my opponents box.
"I'm quite quick at adapting to other people's styles, I think it is going to be a tough fight but as it wears on I think I'm going to have too much for him."
Burns has had to re-dedicate himself to make the 130lb super-featherweight limit on a regular basis but he has no qualms about stepping up to lightweight when the time is right.
He said: "I can't look beyond this fight but my incentive is that there are bigger fights out there for me. Obviously I'd like to try and unify the titles at super-featherweight and we'll take it from there. But I need to get by Joseph Laryea first.
"I can only fight who's put in front of me - i'm sure they'll get me the right fights at the right time, but as I've said before I'm happy to get in the ring with anybody.
"I'm comfortable at super-featherweight now, everyone looks at me and thinks I struggle at the weight, but I'm not too much over the weight just now so moving up to lightweight is something to look at in the future - and I do believe I can make an impact there."
The Scotsman takes on Joseph Laryea of Ghana on March 12 after the challenger gained a surprise victory over Paul Appleby in Glasgow last month.
Burns made his first defence on the same Braehead Arena bill when he defeated Andreas Evensen in a comprehensive points verdict.
The 27-year-old was initially critical of his performance against the inexperienced Dane, but now believes admits he is moving in the right direction as he gains confidence as one of Britain's four world champions.
"After the fight I thought I was a wee bit hard on myself, when I watched it back I actually boxed better than I thought," he told Sky Sports News.
"But I do seem to be getting better and better with every fight. Everyone knows I can box but in my last couple of fights I've shown I can go forward and fight as well.
"He put up a brave performance, I think I was trying to knock him out with every punch. I was getting a bit frustrated with myself a wee bit but over Christmas I recharged my batteries and i'm just looking forward to getting back into the ring."
Laryea has threatened to do a job on Burns but he said: "Talk is cheap - I prefer to do my talking in the ring, and when we get in there it will just be me and him and all the talking will go out the window. I'm sure it's going to be a hard fight though.
"You just have to look at his last fight against Paul Appleby, I think I was going to fight Paul next but Joseph gave Paul a hard time, boxed from the middle of the ring, and proved that he is right up there. So I'm expecting a hard 12 rounds.
Adapt
"I usually leave it to my trainer to study game plans, he just tells me what to do and I just try to put into operation - I don't usually like to watch my opponents box.
"I'm quite quick at adapting to other people's styles, I think it is going to be a tough fight but as it wears on I think I'm going to have too much for him."
Burns has had to re-dedicate himself to make the 130lb super-featherweight limit on a regular basis but he has no qualms about stepping up to lightweight when the time is right.
He said: "I can't look beyond this fight but my incentive is that there are bigger fights out there for me. Obviously I'd like to try and unify the titles at super-featherweight and we'll take it from there. But I need to get by Joseph Laryea first.
"I can only fight who's put in front of me - i'm sure they'll get me the right fights at the right time, but as I've said before I'm happy to get in the ring with anybody.
"I'm comfortable at super-featherweight now, everyone looks at me and thinks I struggle at the weight, but I'm not too much over the weight just now so moving up to lightweight is something to look at in the future - and I do believe I can make an impact there."
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