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Extremely tough to separate Burns in title defence with Mitchell

| 22.09.2012

Ricky Burns just seems to keep getting better with every fight and he is the marginal favourite to secure a 20th straight victory when defending his WBA lightweight belt against Kevin Mitchell.

Burns was brilliant when dissecting Michael Katsidis two fights ago and produced a similarly effective display last time when beating dangerous Namibian Paulus Moses.

He has home advantage against Mitchell and is the 8/13 favourite to retain his title and potentially secure an all-Scottish future bout with Scott Harrison.

The pair are no strangers to each other having not only come up through the ranks together, but also through both having Frank Warren as their promoter.

They are arguably the two best British lightweights at present and are tough to separate prior to heading to Glasgow’s Scottish Exhibition Centre.

The first half of the fight is expected to be particularly close, but Burns’ better boxing brain is expected to see him get on top late on in some quarters.

Trainer Billy Nelson is not counting out a late stoppage and it is 18/1 that Burns secures victory in any of the final three rounds.

Alternatively, it is 10/11 that Burns retains his title on points and 6/4 that he does so via unanimous decision, which has been the manner of his last two successes.

Although Mitchell will be heading into Burns’ backyard, this will not concern him too much.

Mitchell has won his last two bouts since getting his tactics wrong against Katsidis, with the first of these coming against John Murray’s in the loser’s hometown of Liverpool.

The Essex fighter is certainly the harder puncher and if finding a way through Burns’ tight defence, he could quickly get on top.

Mitchell is 11/8 to claim victory and a tempting 5/1 to become the new champion by way of knockout.

All odds and markets correct as of publication

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Author

Craig Kemp

Craig has written for Ladbrokes since the 2010 World Cup, having previously gained a Media & Sports Journalism degree and contributed to publications including the Racing Post. His main areas of interest are horse racing and UFC, but he is also an avid X Factor gambler and likes nothing more than indulging in a spot of Hip Hop Karaoke.