RYAN Burnett says he is living the dream as he prepares to take on Lee Haskins for his IBF bantamweight title tonight.
The 25-year-old Belfast native couldn’t be happier with his home town billing and insists he is feeling no pressure ahead of his appearance at the Odyssey Arena in front of what is sure to be a partisan crowd.
“It’s pretty much the same,” said the man considered a potential successor to Carl Frampton of his preparations for his biggest fight yet.
“It’s a bit of a different build-up, but the feeling’s the same, I’ve trained the same way I’ve always trained and, at the end of the day, it’s just me and him in the ring, so it’s the exact same as any other fight.
“Not much in my mind has changed, I’m just really looking forward to it. We’re very close now, it’s been a dream of mine to get back to Belfast and to fight for a world title here, fighting a champion, so that makes it even sweeter for me.”
Regardless of how tonight’s fight goes, Burnett is adamant his team made the right decision in taking Lee Haskins on now, in Belfast.
“I know Haskins is a bit of an awkward character, but it’s a fight we want and fight I know I can deal with, so it was a smart decision to take it,” he added.
“It was the same in the amateurs – I’ve always said it takes a great fighter to bring out the best in me and through my amateur career, the higher level I went to, the better I got.
“I think it’s going to be exactly the same in the pro game. The better fighter in front of me, the better Ryan Burnett you’re going to see. I haven’t fought anyone as good as Lee Haskins but, with that challenge, comes the best Ryan Burnett.”
Burnett has put in the hard yards since joining up with trainer Adam Booth and he is convinced that now is his time to shine.
“I’ve paid my dues across the water,” he said.
“I’ve trained and fought in England and this is my first time coming home, so I was a bit iffy about how tickets were going to go, what the response would be in Belfast, but thank God, Belfast has come out in force and there’s plenty here supporting me, so I’m very grateful for that.”
Belfast’s undefeated challenger has the chance tonight to win a world title in only his 17th fight, but Burnett does not necessarily believe he will have to dig deeper than ever before to get his hands on the belt.
“If I perform the way I’ve been performing in the gym, I don’t think so,” said a confident Burnett.
“I’d be stupid not to think it was a 50-50 fight. I’ve built myself for the best Lee Haskins. I know all fighters say it, but this has been my best training camp, everything has gone perfectly.”
Haskins was considered fortunate by many observers to have defeated his last challenger, Stuart Hall, in September. Haskins had previously beaten Hall convincingly, but the champion struggled to convince in the process of securing a controversial unanimous decision the last time around. And Burnett is convinced Haskins’ modus operandi in the ring will suit him right down to the ground.
“With Lee Haskins’ style, I think that’s going to bring out the best in me,” he said.
“Everybody’s saying he’s awkward and stuff, but I think his style suits me. I enjoy that. Skill against skill, you’ll see quality and I believe, on Saturday night, you’re going to see the best of Ryan Burnett because I’ve got a world class world champion in front of me.”
Come tonight, Burnett has no doubt the belt will be over his shoulder, and that the Belfast boxing crowd will be seeing a lot more of him in the time to come.
“Definitely. On Saturday night, I will become world champion and I’ll be coming back to Belfast as much as I possibly can.”
