Ryan Burnett lost his WBA bantamweight title last weekend against Nonito Donaire, but he did so in a fashion that nobody, including Donaire, wanted to see, injuring himself throwing a right hand in the fourth round.
The injury was bad enough to force Burnett to immediately take a knee, and when he got back up, he was clearly too immobile to continue fighting. Trainer Adam Booth stopped the fight between the fourth and fifth rounds, and Donaire took the title and advanced in the World Boxing Super Series to face Zolani Tete in the semifinal round.
Burnett (19-1, 9 KO) revealed the extent of the injury yesterday on Twitter:
“I am absolutely gutted not to be world champion,” he wrote. “This scenario was totally out of my control, but I understand, injury is the difficult part of sporting life.
“My assessments have been completed, and diagnosed that I have torn muscle fibers in my right internal oblique, where a portion of the muscle has also detached from the bone where it inserts.
“This is not a career ending injury, but is one that will require intensive treatment and rehabilitation.
“I will pick myself up, make myself strong again, and get back to where I believe I belong, as champion of the world.”
The 26-year-old Burnett also expressed his respect for Donaire (39-5, 25 KO), who repeatedly checked on Burnett in the corner before accepting the belt and the victory.
“I want to thank Nonito Donaire for sharing the ring with me, and for being a man of such great character, and I wish him all the best for the remainder of the WBSS.”
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