Results from Scotland – Burns vs. Crawford:
On Saturday, March 1st, Ricky Burns defends his WBO lightweight strap against undefeated American prospect Terence Crawford at the Scottish Exhibition Centre in Glasgow, Scotland. The Burns vs. Crawford fight was aired in the U.S. on the AWE network, and right here, you can find the full results from the match. Did Burns reestablish himself as one of the best lightweights in the world, or did Crawford rise to the top of the division thanks to his standout skills?
Terence Crawford moved to 23-0 (16 KOs) with a unanimous decision over Ricky Burns, now 36-3-1. Despite an uneven beginning, Crawford took control and didn’t relinquish the upper-hand, as the brave, but outgunned Burns never was able to stem the Crawford flow. The 26-year old now looks to other challenges to solidify his standing in a wide-open lightweight division.
The first round began with Crawford illustrating a decided speed advantage over Burns, landing a sizzling left hook to midway through the round, while Burns landed a long right and made good use of his jab. Burns may have taken the first round. He is keeping Crawford off-balance. Crawford is not lighting the world on fire, keeping a low workrate and taking a while to warm up to the task, while the busier Burns takes advantage. Crawford did very little in the second stanza.
Having possibly already fallen into a hole, Crawford continued moving slickly, but not nearly moving his hands fast enough in the third. Burns showed a better workrate, giving the impression of being the harder-working fighter. Crawford may have a strategy in mind, but his subdued approach was somewhat mystifying, despite the rounds being close. Close doesn’t get it done in Scotland against a domestic world champ, as we have seen before.
In the 4th, Crawford sprung to life with a prolonged barrage that seemed to have Burns in a bit of peril. It could be enough to have swung the momentum in his favor, though the follow-up was lacking. The increased pressure, however, was a positive sign and gave Crawford his first decisively-won round (presumably). Crawford does his best when he pursues Burns aggressively. When he lays back and tries to get cut with Burns, there’s not much to separate the fighters, giving the edge to the hometown hero.
In the fifth round, more Crawford pressure again had Burns looking a bit worse for wear. The Crawford heat turned up a few notches and Burns struggled to keep up. A cut over Burns eye opened up and he seemed dented a bit from Crawford’s fifth-round body-work. The 6th began to see burns looking ragged, especially after getting wobbled by a big left hook. Crawford was now firmly in control and mixing his attack well to the head and body. Burns is steadfast, though and still probably in the fight, at least on the cards.
By the 7th, Crawford looked comfortably in control, with Burns looking a bit ragged and concerned. One is hesitant to write off Burns, who has come back before, but by the 7th, he needed something to stem the Crawford tide and didn’t get it, as Crawford won that round as well. In the 8th, things got ugly for Burns, as a rolling Crawford teed off against him on the ropes. Burns was taking a beating.
Burns seemed to make a last grasp at victory in the 9th, which only allowed him to increasingly incur the wrath of Crawford. The crowd cheered on Burns and applauded his bravery, but it all looked to be a losing effort in the 9th, with more one-way traffic from Crawford at the end. The 10th saw more of the same, with Crawford so visibly superior that there is no way anyone can see it the other way. More of the same in the 10th.
Burns didn’t do much in the 11th, discouraged from offense with Crawford always using it as an opportunity to land on Burns. It almost seemed Burns was trying to make it the final bell–stuck with no answers and no chance of winning. The final round had Crawford looking for a stoppage, the light at the tunnel energizing him, in addition to his knowledge of the shenanigans that have taken place in Scotland. All Crawford in the 12th.
Scores were 116-112 (twice) and 117-111–all for Crawford, who claims the WBO strap with the win. The win may not make people break down the doors to watch Crawford, it establishes him as a clear top-tier lightweight, with only the enhanced credentials of Miguel Vazquez preventing top-dog status.
Follow up with us over the next few days for even more coverage, including post-fight analysis, ranking updates and more, and thanks for stopping by to see the Burns vs. Crawford results!
