Michele Di Rocco vs. Ricky Burns: Winner, Recap and Reaction

Michele Di Rocco and Ricky Burns entered the ring at the SSE Hydro in Glasgow, Scotland, Saturday night with the vacant WBA super lightweight title on the line, and Burns moved into esteemed territory with an eighth-round TKO victory.   

Sky Sports Boxing on Twitter snapped a picture of Burns celebrating the result once the bout was stopped: 

By virtue of his win, Burns became the first fighter from Scotland to capture world championship belts in three different weight classes, according to SkySports.com's Isaac Robinson. Prior to securing the super lightweight crown, Burns owned the WBO super featherweight and lightweight straps. 

Boxing Monthly relayed a photo of Burns donning his shiny new belt: 

The Rickster improved to 40-5-1 all-time thanks to the triumph, while Di Rocco—who was competing for his first world title—dropped to 40-2-1 with the loss. 

Burns fed off the energy from the hometown crowd early, and it showed as he landed a flurry of punches throughout Round 1 that appeared to disorient the Italian, as Behind The Gloves on Twitter observed: 

Burns continued to apply pressure throughout the fight's early stages with his jab, and Di Rocco's legs appeared rather heavy. The 33-year-old Scot continued to pressure him as momentum shifted in his favor.

When Round 2 came to a close, Boxing Monthly noted Burns had open avenues for success that Di Rocco needed to close down: 

The Scotsman tagged Di Rocco with right-handed blows repeatedly throughout the third round, and he sent Di Rocco tumbling to the canvas thanks to some strong tactical prowess, per Matchroom Boxing:

The bell saved Di Rocco following the knockdown, but the shaky close to Round 3 didn't do anything to jolt him awake. Burns landed punches flush throughout the proceedings, and he wobbled a seemingly shaken opponent on several occasions over the first four frames. 

SB Nation's Bad Left Hook noted that Di Rocco looked overmatched on such a big stage against a top-tier opponent: 

Di Rocco redeemed himself when he unloaded a few nice clips during strong stints in the sixth and seventh rounds, but Burns continued to maintain a sizable lead thanks to a slew of stellar jabs and a few roundhouse rights before capturing the bout's second and decisive knockdown. 

The win represented redemption for Burns, who traveled down a long and arduous path after suffering a broken jaw against Raymundo Beltran in September 2013. Following the lone draw of his career, Burns proceeded to lose three of his next four fights between April 2014 and May 2015.

That futile stretch started with a unanimous-decision loss to Terence Crawford, who stripped Burns of his WBO lightweight belt in the process.

But after moving up a class and defeating Di Rocco in thorough fashion Saturday evening, Burns' career is starting to come full circle following a trying few years. 

Post-Fight Reaction

"When the fight was stopped I could feel myself welling up," Burns said, according to SkySports.com's James Dielhenn. "My team knew what this meant to me. After everything that's happened, Eddie Hearn showed faith in me and delivered this big fight. …

"In the gym we're always having a laugh that I'm the only veteran. I feel like I've been fighting forever. I was 12 when I started, thanks to everyone who helped me through the years to get here. I don't know what to say."

As far as tactics were concerned, Burns reiterated that he stressed establishing his jab as a way to maintain an edge.

"The game plan we set out was to keep it long with jabs and straight rights," he added, per Dielhenn. "I couldn't miss him with it. We didn't have to get in the second phase of the game plan. I'm going on holiday next week, but I'll be chasing my team because there are some big fights out there for me now."

"Going back down to lightweight is also an option, but I’ll sit down and discuss that with my team," Burns said, per the Daily Record. "But everyone who knows me knows that I’ll fight anyone."