A Gutsy Burns Defeats A Classy Gonzalez!!

Ricky Burns retained his WBO Lightweight title after his opponent Jose Gonzalez quit on his stool before the 10^th round. Burns went into this fight as a strong favourite but he far from had it his own way.  In the third Burns nose was bloodied but he did have a better fourth, however Gonzalez resumed normal service in the fifth as he had Burns taking cover on the ropes. Gonzalez was making his reach advantage count as he was constantly beating burns to the punch and keeping him out of range. It was clear Gonzalez was winning the fight and he dominated until the seventh round when Burns managed to turn it around. The pair traded blows and the resilient Burns kept on pushing and landing some good shots. The Scot realised he wouldn’t beat his opponent with skill but had to mentally and physically break his opponent down. Both fighters looked exhausted after the rounds bell went. In the eighth it was clear Gonzalez was starting to feel the sheer determination of Burns as he was circling the outside of the ring and gave Burns the round almost by default. Burns took the ninth round as well in similar fashion as his challenger was looking weary. As everyone was set for the tenth round Burns was gifted victory as Gonzalez refused to rise from his stool despite protestations from his trainer who looked shocked. The referee waved off the fight and Burns retained his title. This was Burns third defence of his title but surely his hardest as at one stage it looked certain he would lose his title. After eight months out of the ring maybe the Scot was a little rusty but nevertheless he still dug very deep and showed great heart.