Ricky’s summer of glove

Ricky Burns stayed on course for a summer superfight with Kevin Mitchell with victory over Paulus Moses — as 6,000 roaring fans almost blew the roof off Braehead Arena. The 28-year-old Coatbridge ace fed off the support of his vast army of fans against slippery Namibian policeman Moses. After 12 tough rounds, the judges gave the verdict to WBO champ Burns by 119-110, 120-110 and 117-111, but it always looked much closer. Promoter Frank Warren has tipped Burns to become a legend in the mould of Ken Buchanan, but on this evidence he has still a bit to go. However, this victory against the former WBA lightweight champion has taken Burns a step closer to a mouthwatering, money-spinning, all-British clash with Londoner Mitchell. The Scot is likely to take another step towards that status with a mouthwatering all-British fight with Londoner Mitchell later this year. The capacity crowd raised the roof when the champion entered the ring — following the traditional booing of the challenger. The wiry Moses, who came into the fight with an impressive 28-1-0 record having knocked out 19 of his opponents, took to the centre of the ring from the first bell. But the Scot unleashed a couple of decent combinations to get the fans cheering. Burns started the second round in more positive mode but it was his good defensive work which was needed to dampen down the enthusiasm of Moses, who had clearly not come to Scotland simply for the pay-day. The champion got the crowd going again in the third with some impressive combinations which rattled the Namibian — body shots and left hooks, in particular, doing the damage. Moses kept coming forward but was coming off second best in the exchanges and clinches. The African found his way through in the less intense fifth round with a good left hook which drew an immediate response from Burns, who took a breather in the next, returning to the ropes to fend off his energetic opponent. It was warming up nicely as Moses piled forward swinging lefts and rights with enough success to silence the crowd at times as the champion looked increasingly at unease. The eighth was another triumph for defences, a scrappy melee with too much holding and neither fighter getting clean punches on target although the champion perhaps again had the edge. Moses did find the chin with a solid right hand in the next round which Burns shrugged off, but it was turning into a uncomfortable night for the Coatbridge man. Burns had to withstand a flurry from the Namibian at the start of the tenth round of a fight being fought through differing levels of tiredness and desperation. Both fighters hugged before the start of the final round with the champion staying out of enough trouble and impressing the judges with some well-targeted punches to ensure he retained his belt. Earlier, former British champion Paul Appleby got back to winning ways by beating Irishman Stephen Ormond to claim the vacant Celtic super-featherweight title after a ten-round battle. In a scrappy fight, both men were repeatedly warned about holding and the use of their heads. Ormond was the guiltier of the two and referee Richie Davis eventually deducted him a point in the seventh round. Appleby, 24, who had blood pouring down his left cheek from a nasty gash above his eye, scored a unanimous 96-94, 96-95, 96-94 points verdict. Commonwealth Games gold medallist Callum Johnson scored an impressive first-round stoppage against Irishman Tommy Tolan. Fellow medallist Stephen Simmons floored Zimbabwean journeyman Hastings Rasani with a blistering right hook in the sixth to stay on course for a British title. Cambuslang lightweight Jordan McCrory outpointed Dewsbury's Yousef Al Hamidi 40-36, Glasgow super-bantamweight Jonathan Slowey beat Aberdeen's James Ancliffe by an identical margin, while Edinburgh light-middleweight John Thain edged out Joe Lovell of Connah's Quay 57-56.