Ricky Burns retained his WBO lightweight title after a draw with Raymundo Beltran in Glasgow on Saturday. The Scot suffered a dislocated jaw in the second round and had to get up from a knockdown in the eighth in his defence against the tough Mexican. One judge awarded the fight 115-112 to Burns. Another made Beltran a 115-113 winner and the third saw it 114-114.
But even the partisan home crowd could scarcely seem to believe the result in a fight that Beltran seemed to dominate throughout. The 30-year-old champion was making the fourth defence of the title he won at the end of 2011 by beating Australian Michael Katsidis on points. The 32-year-old Mexican's record moved to 28 wins, six defeats and one draw. Burns, a former WBO super-featherweight champion, now stands at 36-3-1.
Beltran hardly seemed surprised by the result, although he said he had "absolutely" won the fight. "I did everything I had to do to win," he said.
"Politics, it's always the same thing. There's a promoter, there's money involved, it's a business. If they have the opportunity to protect their own investment, they do it. It is what it is. It's disrespectful for the fighters, for the fans. They (promoters) just play with the business because they have the power. If I get beat then I get beat but I get robbed every time, right and left, it's so frustrating because it's hard work and sacrifice and you put your life on the line for the family, but they don't care. They just protect the investment. It's not Ricky's fault, it's just the business. The referee was terrible. [Burns] was holding too much and [the referee] didn't say anything. Everything was against me as it always is," Beltran said.
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