RICKY BURNS will make his comeback against the Frenchman Alexandre Lepelley in Leeds on Saturday after a change of opponent just three days before the fight.
The 32 year-old former two-weight world champion had been scheduled to face the Argentine Leonardo Esteban Gonzalez at the First Direct Arena over 10 rounds in his first outing at light-welterweight, but will take on Lepelley who has a record of 17 wins, including three by stoppage, with one loss and one draw.
As Burns aims to revive his career at 140lbs following the disastrous loss in June to the unheralded Montenegrin Dejan Zlaticanin which ended his World Boxing Organization reign at lightweight, his manager Alex Morrison was sanguine about the change to his charge's plans.
"Gonzalez was more of a lightweight and we wanted more of a test at light-welterweight; Lepelley, who comes with a superior record, will provide that," said Morrison. "He [Lepelley] has only lost once and that came back in 2008 and he has been very active in compiling a strong winning record since then.
"He is 32 and has fought all over Europe and he certainly won't be worried about coming to Leeds. We are talking about an experienced pro here who will provide Ricky with the type of test he needs to start off his campaign at 140lbs."
Though not a big puncher, the orthodox and squat Frenchman throws a straight right which can be doubled up with a hook of some venom. A positive for Burns is that, if scrutiny of Lepelley's previous fights is to be believed, he does not have the sort of left hook that has consistently undone the Scot over the last year.
In his last fight, Zlaticanin decked Burns with the close-range shot in the opening round, while Terence Crawford had repeatedly punished Burns with the same punch when he took the Scot's WBO lightweight title from him in March and Raymundo Beltran broke his jaw with a left hook en route to their controversial draw.
Lepelley is eighth in the European rankings and a victory over the Frenchman could propel Burns into touching distance of a challenge for the European light-welterweight belt.
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