Ricky Burns' trainer - 'Speed will be the key against Martinez'
Ricky Burns' trainer, Billy Nelson, took some time out from preparing his man for his upcoming world title shot against Roman Martinez on September 4th to speak to BoxRec News.
How have you been preparing Ricky specifically for facing Roman Martinez?
We’ve studied Martinez on DVD and feel he is more than beatable, although we do realize that this will be a very hard fight for both boxers.
Who have you brought in to spar with Ricky for this training camp?
Ricky has been sparring two good strong English welterweights and handled them very well. He has also been sparring with Santino Caruana and John Simpson.
Have you spoke to previous Martinez victim Nicky Cook at all to get any tips on how to deal with Martinez?
I spoke briefly to Paul Cook (father and trainer of Nicky) regarding Martinez, although Nicky was boxing very well before he got caught (Nicky lost by stoppage in round four).
Ricky has never been in with anyone of Roman’s class before. Would you have preferred Ricky to have had tougher fights than his last two (Kevin O’Hara and Youssef Al Hamidi) before stepping up to this level?
Ricky spars regularly with John Simpson and used to spar Willie Limond, who I rate as one of the best lightweights in the country, so I’m sure Ricky will be able to deal with anything Matinez brings to the ring. In my opinion, Nicky Cook has been Martinez's best opponent and I feel Ricky's speed will be the key to this fight.
The fight took a long time to come off and was originally slated to take place in Puerto Rico. How important do you think it is that Ricky has home advantage?
Home advantage is huge and the Scottish fans will be right behind Ricky. When Ricky wins, he will be a great role model and youngsters can look up to him. He is a very clean living and modest man.
Alex Arthur is fighting at lightweight on the undercard of Ricky’s bout. Would Ricky like to avenge his defeat to Arthur and is a move up to lightweight in the plans for the future?
Ricky is totally professional both in and out of the gym and maintains his weight well. He would love to fight Alex Arthur again, although in my opinion Ricky would win easily as he is a totally different fighter to the one that lost to Alex, when he was no more than a novice.
Ricky is looking to follow in the footsteps of Scottish greats like Ken Buchannan, Jim Watt and more recently Scott Harrison and Alex Arthur. Who do you think are the fighters who could follow in the footsteps of Ricky Burns?
I have a super talented lad in my gym; Santino Caruana. He can go as far has he wants. Kenny Anderson can win the British title as he has the ability to KO any opponent.
Submitted by Craig Mackay on 18 August, 2010 - 17:48
