Belmontes Shoots Down Rumor of Ricky Burns Clash

By Shaun Brown

Despite rumours floating around that he was in the running, Jerry Belmontes 19-4 (5 KOs) has told BoxingScene he will not be facing Ricky Burns on Jun 27 in Glasgow.

Belmontes, who last Saturday lost a split decision to WBC Lightweight champion and former amateur rival, Omar Figueroa, in Carson told BoxingScene.com about the speculation: “Yes they [Burns’ team] called us but I’m going to take a break and spend some time with my family. But, yeah, I would love to go over there and fight Ricky Burns, just not in June.”

Burns, who recently lost his WBO title at 135lbs to Terence Crawford, will attend a press conference in Glasgow on Wednesday with promoter Eddie Hearn to announce his next opponent.

And as the WBC revealed earlier on their website it will not be their Silver Champion, Javier Prieto, as once thought. Prieto 24-7 (18 KOs) will instead face Ivan Cano 22-6 (15 KOs) on May 17 in Cancun, Mexico.

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