Ryan Burnett maintained his unbeaten record with a stylish and comprehensive victory over Ryan Farrag on Saturday night in Liverpool.
The Belfast bantamweight totally outclassed his opponent throughout the 12-round contest to record a unanimous-decision victory, the scorecards reading 118-110, 118-111, 117-111 all in favour of Burnett.
Burnett took the fight to his opponent from the first round until the last, looking very comfortable switching between boxing and fight mode throughout.
But the Belfast man was tested at times with Farrag enjoying short spells of pressure throughout the latter rounds.
Burnett, however, showed an impeccable and stylish defence as he walked into the Farrag flurries, displaying a remarkable ability to block the volley of shots coming his way.
The Adam Booth-trained Burnett, who also had Andy Lee’s brother Roger in his corner, extended his 100 per cent professional record to 15-0, as he successfully defended his British title, fighting on the undercard of Tony Bellew’s world title defence against BJ Flores.
Hat off to Ryan Farrag, give me a great fight! I wish you all the best.
— Ryan Burnett (@ryanburnett01) October 15, 2016
Thank you everyone for the support! Appreciate it all. #AndStill pic.twitter.com/oJfDhsRY7d
Speaking after the fight, Burnett admitted that he needed a tough test, which was provided by the local Liverpool fighter Farrag.
"Farrag was hard as nails,” said Burnett, speaking on Sky Sports ringside after the fight. “I was hitting him and thinking to myself, ‘please, go away’ but he wouldn’t.
"I needed something like that, where people say, ‘I want to see that kid again’, so that was the perfect fight for me.
"I’m happy with the performance. The last few fights have been sort of [just] boxing and I wanted to prove to everyone that I can fight. So I stood in there and had a scrap
"I needed someone to test me, someone to hurt me, and that’s exactly what I got."
Burnett’s performance drew rave reviews from many former fighters working ringside, including Carl Froch and Johnny Nelson.
"It’s been many years since I’ve seen such a talented fighter,” said former world champion Nelson.
Another ex-world champion, David Haye, was also working as a television pundit and stated that 24-year-old Burnett has now established himself as world class following that performance.
Burnett also received many plaudits on Twitter for his all-round performance at the Echo Arena.
RTE Sport boxing pundit and fellow professional fighter Eric Donovan commented: “Terrific engine by @ryanburnett01 and a great variation of boxing & fighting skills. @SkySportsBoxing congrats bro!”
Terrific engine by @ryanburnett01 and a great variation of boxing & fighting skills. @SkySportsBoxing congrats bro!
— Eric Donovan (@eric_donovan60) October 15, 2016
Former world welterweight champion Eamonn Magee also spoke highly of his fellow Belfast fighter saying: “@ryanburnett01 is a great fighter. All young pros could learn watching him. His inside work is impressive. Future world champ #BellewFlores”
@ryanburnett01 is a great fighter. All young pros could learn watching him. His inside work is impressive. Future world champ #BellewFlores
— Eamonn Magee (@TerminatorMagee) October 15, 2016
