WBA World light welterweight champion Ricky Burns (41-5-1, 14 KOs) is already looking past his next opponent IBF champion Julius Indongo (21-0, 11 KOs) towards a unification fight against WBC/WBO 140 lb. champion Terence Crawford (30-0, 21 KOs) in the near future. That’s the fight that the 33-year-old Burns wants, because it’s the biggest match out there for him in the light welterweight division.
Burns lost to Crawford by a 12 round decision three years ago in 2014, and he wants the chance to avenge the loss to the Omaha, Nebraska native. Crawford wants to fight Burns too, because he could potentially have the last remaining titles not in his possession if he beats Indongo in their unification fight on April 15 at The SSE Hydro, in Glasgow, Scotland.
Indongo will have his IBF 140lb title on the line next month when he faces Burns in Glasgow. The winner of the fight will be the IBF/WBA champion. Crawford can then swoop in and potentially take the last two titles not already in his possession.
“If things went well for me in this fight then (Terence) Crawford is the biggest name in the division,” said Burns via ringtv.com. “He holds the WBC, the WBO and THE RING belt, so, if it’s up to me, 100 percent that would be my choice. If I’m given the option to fight Crawford, then you know what I’m going to say.”
If Burns wants the Crawford fight, he’s going to need to do some convincing to his promoter Eddie Hearn to let him take the fight, because he might not feel as eager to make that fight compared to Burns. Hearn usually puts his fighters into fights that they have a good chance of winning. When Hearn’s fighters do choose to take risky fights, it’s after he’s let them know what they’re up against. For example, Kell Brook is fighting Errol Spence in his next fight.
Brook is one of Hearn’s fighters, and he’s let him know repeatedly that he would like for him to move up to 154. It appears that Hearn wants Brook to move up in weight because he realizes that he’s in a fight that could be a really tough one for him. I think we might see the same thing with Hearn attempting to steer Burns in another direction from Crawford, because it’s such a difficult fight on paper. Crawford dominated Burns in their fight in 2014. It’s unlikely that a rematch between them would be any different.
The southpaw Indongo is a big puncher with a lot of size. Burns might not get past Indongo if he lets his hands go in any real way.