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Rifle Ross gunning for British title
RIFLEMAN Ross Burkinshaw aims to be British champion on Friday night in just his 10th professional boxing appearance. The serving soldier with The Rifles is targeting a Lonsdale belt at the 8st 3lb super-flyweight level in a contest at the Seaburn Centre, Sunderland.
In his sights will be Bristol's former Commonwealth champ, Lee Haskins, who is three years older, more experienced and has boxed three times as many rounds as his South Yorkshire opponent.
Haskins is some pundits' favourite to retain the British belt he won last November - but the Sheffield sniper intends to pick him off.
"Some people might see me as the outsider, but I know I am going to go in there and cause an upset" says 22-year-old Burkinshaw, who owns the English title at super-fly.
"I know I have the mental and physical strength to beat Haskins.
"He might be powerful but I have been rocked a couple of times in sparring by people bigger than me like Jez Wilson and Carl Wild and I have always managed to come back.
"On Friday, though, it will be him that is worrying about what I am throwing rather than the other way round."
Burkinshaw, who carries out recruitment duties for The Rifles, says he wants to become the first British champion to be trained entirely by Hillsborough coach Glyn Rhodes.
"He has had another British champion in (Liverpool super-bantamweight) Richie Wenton but I'm the only one who will have been with him since I was a kid - I was 10 when Glyn first started training me at his gym," he said.
"It was a great to have won the English title on St George's Day (beating Mike Robinson in London in April) but winning the British title for Glyn would surpass that."
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Weather for Sheffield
Thursday 24 May 2012
Today
Sunny spells
Temperature: 11 C to 24 C
Wind Speed: 10 mph
Wind direction: North east
Tomorrow
Sunny
Temperature: 10 C to 21 C
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