“I wasn’t getting a fight for a while. I had a little surgery, but the recovery was so smooth and so good that I was ready in September. So that’s when I started asking for a fight. I thought I was going to fight before Brazil but when I saw the schedule had Brazil, I was like, someone has to step up,” Burns said.
That’s when Magny came into the picture.
“I’m in the Top 5 right now and Magny was back in the rankings, but no one said yes to fighting me, so what was I supposed to do? Not fight?” Burns said. “He has so much experience and he’s tough and durable. He just broke the welterweight win record, and he was the only one who stepped up.”
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Burns is thankful to have a partner to dance with, but he couldn’t help but take it personally that Magny was excited to face him in his own backyard.
“It became a little personal because he said he wanted to fight me in Brazil. I took that personally. You want to beat me in Brazil?” Burns said. “I respect the guy, but you want to beat me in Rio de Janeiro? We will see.”
That extra motivation is something that Burns is happy to have in the back of his mind, but he’s not going to let that cloud his mind. He’s determined to not only get the win and get back on the path to welterweight title contention, but he’s focused on putting on a brilliant showcase for the Brazilian people.
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“I’m pumped to be fighting in Brazil. The card will be awesome,” Burns said. “I have a ton of people going who are going to be crazy and loud. That will make me my best. It’s a good pressure, not a bad pressure. I want to make everyone proud.”