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Man of Steel

Date	1 March 2014
Venue	Scottish Exhibition and Conference Centre, Glasgow, Scotland, UK
Title(s) on the line	WBO lightweight title
Tale of the tape
Boxer Ricky Burns Terence Crawford Nickname "The Rickster" "Bud" Hometown Coatbridge, Lanarkshire, UK Omaha, Nebraska, U.S. Purse £500,000 Pre-fight record 36–2–1 (11 KO) 22–0 (16 KO) Age 30 years, 10 months 26 years, 5 months Height 5 ft 9 in (175 cm) 5 ft 8 in (173 cm) Weight 134+1⁄4 lb (61 kg) 134+1⁄4 lb (61 kg) Style Orthodox Southpaw Recognition WBO Lightweight Champion TBRB No. 3 Ranked Lightweight The Ring No. 4 Ranked Lightweight 2-division world champion WBO No. 1 Ranked Lightweight TBRB No. 5 Ranked Lightweight The Ring No. 10 Ranked Lightweight
Result
Crawford defeats Burns by unanimous decision

Ricky Burns vs. Terence Crawford, billed as Man of Steel, was a professional boxing match contested on 1 March 2014, for the WBO Lightweight championship.

Background

Since his promotion to full WBO lightweight champion in January 2012, Ricky Burns had made four successful defences, the last of which was a split decision draw with Ray Beltrán in September 2013. After the fight it emerged that Beltrán had broken Burns's jaw as early as the 2nd round. After successful surgery Burns expressed interest in a rematch with Beltrán however, the WBO had installed unbeaten contenter Terence Crawford as their mandatory challenger. While it was believed that Burns' promoter Eddie Hearn had wanted the rematch with Beltrán, Crawford's promoter Top Rank were ready to enforce his mandatory status, hence a deal was done in December 2013 for the two to meet early in 2014.

Speaking at the formal announcement Hearn told ESPN "I'm delighted to bring this fight to Scotland. We tried hard to make the Beltran rematch but Crawford is the mandatory and Ricky is happy to accept the challenge. It's perhaps the toughest test Ricky has faced so far. There seems to be plenty of hype around Crawford, so let's see how he gets on trying to take Ricky's title in his backyard." Crawford, who was fighting outside the U.S. for the first time, expressed confidence for his first world title bout saying "I hope Burns is ready to walk to hell and back. I'm going to fight with all my heart. I have the determination and the skill to win the world title and bring it home."

During the build up, Burns assuaged any suggestion that his jaw, which now had a titanium plate inserted, saying "My jaw's been holding up as well. I've taken a few knocks and it seems to be holding up...Fingers crossed holds up on fight night and there's no accidents."

Burns was a 2 to 1 underdog.

The fights

Undercard

The live card began with a victory for 2012 Olympic bronze medalist Anthony Ogogo. This was followed by wins for Martin Joseph Ward, David Brophy, Scott Cardle and John Murray.

Joshua vs. Avila

The chief support saw 2012 Olympic Gold medalist Anthony Joshua face Argentinian veteran Hector Alfredo Avila.

Joshua would knockout Avila in the 1st round.

Main Event

Both fighters were cautious in the opening round, with Burns’ jab making the early impact. Crawford adjusted in the 2nd, neutralizing Burns’ jab. The action heated up in the 5th as Crawford began to showcase his offensive skills, with champion waiting too long to get his punches off. Despite the tactical nature of the fight, with both boxers using feints, jabs, and lateral movement to disrupt each other, Crawford took control and set the pace. Burns tried to stand his ground in the 7th, attempting to go toe-to-toe with Crawford, but Crawford’s hard jab and aggressive approach soon took over. In the 8th, Crawford was punishing Burns with heavy shots. Bures caught Crawford cleanly early in the 9th. The challenger continued to outwork and outland Burns in the championship rounds. By the 12th, Crawford was pouring on the pressure, looking to finish, landing a series of headshots with Burns on the ropes but the Champion remained upright and saw the final bell. The judges scored the fight 117–111, 116–112 and 116–112 all in favour of Crawford.

Former world champion Jim Watt on the Sky Sports broadcast scored it 117–111 for Crawford.

Over the twelve rounds, Crawford landed 213 of 811 punches thrown (26.2%). Burns landed 76 of his 552 thrown (13.8%).

Aftermath

A delighted Crawford said at ringside "I'm lost for words, I'm happy, yeah, I've got that belt." Burns meanwhile praised Crawford after the fight, simply stating, "The better man won" before adding "There are some big fights out there for me but my first choice would be a rematch. We knew it was going to be difficult. I knew how good he was. I'd like to keep fighting at world level. I think I proved tonight that I definitely do belong there. I'm definitely going to stay at lightweight. I made the weight comfortably." Burns would also say he wanted a rematch "First thing I said to Eddie after the fight was 'we'll be chasing for a rematch'. Hopefully, we can get that sorted."

Crawford was linked to a number of fighters following his victory including Beltrán, former featherweight champion Yuriorkis Gamboa, IBF champion Miguel Vázquez or WBA champion Richar Abril.

Undercard

Confirmed bouts:

Winner	Loser	Weight division/title belt(s) disputed	Result
Floater bouts
Ryan Smith	Ibrar Riyaz	Lightweight (4 rounds)	Points decision
Live bouts
Anthony Joshua	Hector Alfredo Avila	Heavyweight (6 rounds)	1st round TKO
John Murray	John Simpson	Lightweight (10 rounds)	2nd round TKO
Scott Cardle	Paul Appleby	Lightweight (8 rounds)	8th round TKO
David Brophy	Jamie Ambler	Sper middleweight (8 rounds)	Points decision
Martin Joseph Ward	Craig Woodruff	Super featherweight (6 rounds)	4th round TKO
Anthony Ogogo	Greg O'Neil	Middleweight (6 rounds)	Points decision
Preliminary bouts
Michael Roberts	Romain Peker	Super featherweight (4 rounds)	Points decision
Scott Allan	Francis Croes	Bantamweight (4 rounds)	Points decision
Ryan Collins	Mariusz Bak	Super featherweight (4 rounds)	Points decision

Broadcasting

Country	Broadcaster
United Kingdom	Sky Sports
United States	AWE

References

1. "£500k...and Ricky is entitled to every penny, says Barry". Evening Times. 10 December 2013. Retrieved 31 May 2017.
2. "Ricky Burns vs.Terence Crawford". boxrec.com. BoxRec. Retrieved 28 January 2025.
3. "Beltran Drops, Busts Jaw of Ricky Burns, But Gets Draw – Boxing News". Boxingscene.com. 7 September 2013. Retrieved 29 June 2014.
4. "Burns vs Beltran results: Raymundo Beltran robbed of title win in controversial draw". Bad Left Hook. 7 September 2013.
5. "Ricky Burns keeps title after disputed draw against Raymundo Beltrán". The Guardian. 7 September 2013.
6. Christ, Scott (9 December 2013). "Burns-Crawford set for February in Glasgow". Bad Left Hook. Retrieved 31 May 2017.
7. "Ricky Burns to defend his WBO title against American Terence Crawford". The Guardian. Press Association. 9 December 2013. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 27 September 2017.
8. Samuel Rowntree (30 December 2013). "Ricky Burns will defend WBO title against Terence Crawford". The Guardian. Retrieved 29 January 2025.
9. "Ricky Burns to defend title against Terence Crawford on 1 March". bbc.co.uk. BBC. 30 December 2013. Retrieved 29 January 2025.
10. "Ricky Burns eager to defend title after recovering from jaw break". bbc.co.uk. BBC. 13 January 2014. Retrieved 29 January 2025.
11. "Ricky Burns unfazed by jaw injury ahead of fifth title defence". bbc.co.uk. BBC. 24 February 2014. Retrieved 29 January 2025.
12. Dan Rafael (27 February 2014). "Crawford focused on Burns' title". espn.co.uk. ESPN. Retrieved 29 January 2025.
13. Kevin Mitchell (28 February 2014). "Big ask for Ricky Burns as he faces Terence Crawford in title fight No10". The Guardian. Retrieved 29 January 2025.
14. Brian Mazique (28 February 2014). "Ricky Burns vs. Terence Crawford: Fight Time, Date, Live Stream, TV Info, More". bleacherreport.com. Bleacher Report. Retrieved 29 January 2025.
15. "Anthony Joshua stops Hector Avila inside a round to maintain his perfect record". skysports.com. Sky Sports. 1 March 2014. Archived from the original on 2 March 2014. Retrieved 29 January 2025.
16. "Crawford Turns Back Ricky Burns, Captures WBO Crown". www.boxingscene.com. Retrieved 26 January 2025.
17. "Ricky Burns beaten by Terence Crawford in WBO title defence". BBC Sport. 2 March 2014. Retrieved 12 January 2017.
18. "Terence Crawford takes WBO title from Ricky Burns with big points win in Glasgow". Sky Sports. Retrieved 12 January 2017.
19. "Crawford too good for Burns as Joshua impresses again". espn.co.uk. ESPN. 1 March 2014. Archived from the original on 29 January 2017. Retrieved 29 January 2025.
20. Kevin Mitchell (2 March 2014). "Ricky Burns shows steel but loses title by points decision to Terence Crawford". The Guardian. Glasgow. Retrieved 29 January 2025.
21. "Burns: I want Crawford rematch". espn.co.uk. ESPN. 2 March 2014. Archived from the original on 29 January 2017. Retrieved 29 January 2025.
22. Sean O'Donnell (1 March 2014). "Ricky Burns vs. Terence Crawford: Winner, Scorecard and Analysis". bleacherreport.com. Bleacher Report. Retrieved 29 January 2025.
23. "BoxRec - event".
24. "Man of Steel - Burns v Crawford ---- 01/03/2014". www.matchroomboxing.com. Matchroom Boxing. 1 March 2014. Archived from the original on 5 March 2014. Retrieved 28 January 2025.
25. Scott Christ (22 January 2014). "Ricky Burns vs Terence Crawford picked up by AWE for American TV broadcast". badlefthook.com. Bad Left Hook. Retrieved 29 January 2025.

• 2014 in boxing
• 2014 in Scottish sport
• 2010s in Glasgow
• March 2014 sports events in the United Kingdom
• Boxing in Scotland
• Boxing matches in the United Kingdom
• Boxing matches promoted by Matchroom Sport
• Boxing on Sky Sports
• Lightweight championship matches
• Sports competitions in Glasgow