Ricky Burns vs. Prince Ofotsu: Winner, Recap and Reaction

The ending was anticlimactic, but Ricky Burns improved to 38-5 with a fifth-round TKO victory over Prince Ofotsu (15-6) in Hull, England, on Saturday night. It was just Burns' 12th victory by stoppage in his career. 

Ofotsu's corner threw in the towel seconds after their fighter missed the mark with a combination.

Burns was clearly dominating the fight, but Ofotsu was still competitive and not badly hurt when the towel came into the ring and literally landed on the Ghanaian's gloves.

The choice from Ofotsu's corner was a baffling one. Boxing Monthly and By The Min Boxing were just two members of the boxing community to express bewilderment at the decision to forfeit.

Moments after the fight was called to an end, Burns appeared to walk over to Ofotsu's corner to question the cornerman's decision. Like many folks watching the bout, it seemed Burns felt a bit cheated by the abrupt and premature end of the fight.

Ofotsu even looked miffed. He seemed to refuse to come into the corner or speak to his trainer afterwards. It was a strange occurrence, even by boxing's bizarre standards.

Nonetheless, Burns accomplished what he set out to do. He looked sharp and accurate with his punches and he moved well. Ofotsu wasn't expected to win, and while he was allowed to, he put up a decent level of resistance.

Burns was ultimately just too strong, skilled and experience. The former two-division champ looked naturally bigger and more refined than the Ghanaian, who was in just his 21st pro fight and first outside of his native Accra, Ghana.

The bout was scheduled for just eight rounds, and Burns showed no signs of fatigue in any of the frames.

Burns has seemingly settled at 135 pounds after some experiments at 140. He is back in the best weight class for his talent and size. While he's tough and skilled, there are still some issues with his defense. Even Ofotsu was able to land a few significant shots on Burns' chin.

None of them wobbled or troubled the former champion, but had they come from bigger punchers, it could have been problematic. Because Burns lacks big-time power, his deficiencies are harder to mask. At 32 years old, he isn't exactly finished in the sport, but he's clearly seen his best days come and go.

Per Colin Paterson of the Scottish Daily Record, Burns had high hopes for a return to prominence before the bout. His win has undoubtedly stoked the flames.

Burns said: “I’m confident I can get back to winning ways. There are so many big fights at lightweight, not only in the UK, but on the world scene and I can’t wait to get involved in the thick of it."

Burns is still entertaining and an easy guy to root for, but he's not a legitimate world-championship contender at this stage of his career. As the competition level begins to rev back up, his limitations will likely be exposed again. 

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