Burns Says He Will Be Stronger At Lightweight

Ricky Burns feels he will be stronger once he moves up to lightweight. The former undefeated WBO super-featherweight champ faces Australian tough guy Michael Katsidis at the Wembley Arena in London on November 5 and believes moving up a division will make all the difference.

"It was a hard decision to vacate my title but it was the right time to do it and it was in my best interests," Burns said. "Super-featherweight was draining the strength out of me.

"It was getting harder and harder to make the weight. It’s only five pounds of a difference but it makes a big difference.

"I was constantly worrying about what I was eating and the dieting was so strict. I was getting dehydrated boiling down to lose the last two or three pounds.

"And in doing that I was getting tired but I couldn’t take a day off.

"Now that weight is no longer an issue I can take a day off if I need to and now I can enjoy boxing.

Burns added: "I have started changing the way I have been training, working on my upper body and legs and I will be so much stronger."

September 29, 2011