Hatton Prospect Burnett Gets Ukrainian Acid Test In London June 14

Top bantamweight prospect Ryan Burnett will have his toughest test to date when he appears on TKO Events’ stacked card at the Troxy in London’s East End on June 14.

The Ricky Hatton-trained Irishman will face Ukrainian veteran Gennadiy Delisandru and he’s keen to put on another stunning performance.

Delisandru’s record is modest on paper, but the 38-year-old has mixed with some of Europe’s best and has previously gone the distance with former world featherweight challenger Spend Abazi.

Earlier this month, Delisandru took Liverpool’s Ryan Farrag eight rounds. Given that Farrag is on the verge of a British title eliminator, a win for Burnett will help gauge how far he himself is from the upper echelons of the domestic scene.

“He [Delisandru] has had a lot of fights, he’s very experienced and he’s not a journeyman because he comes to win so it looks like it’s going to be a good fight,” Burnett said. “Ricky seems to think I’ll be up there near British title level in a few fights so he’s putting me in with an opponent that always tests people.

“I think I’m well capable of fighting for titles now, I just need to go out and prove it to everyone.”

Ryan, who won 94 of 98 fights as an amateur, has large fan bases in Manchester and back home in Belfast and he expects to gain a few more followers from London’s large Irish community.

He said: “There’s a lot of people from London that have said they’re coming to see me and I think a few more are coming from around the south so it’ll be really good to show them what I can do and it’ll be a good atmosphere.

“I’m really looking forward to boxing in London. The bill has been really well put together and I’ve heard that the venue is brilliant so I want just want to get in there now.”