Ricky Burns has hinted that a broken jaw suffered in his draw with Raymundo Beltran prevented him from claiming an outright victory over the challenger for his WBO lightweight title.
The three ringside judges could not split the pair, with one opting 115-112 for the Scot, another 115-113 for the Mexican and the third scoring it 114-114, meaning that Burns kept hold of his belt in Glasgow.
However, he has suggested that should he not have been forced to go onto the defensive to protect his jaw, which was damaged when he was floored by Beltran in the fourth round, then he would have won the bout on points.
The 30-year-old also revealed that he would be happy to face Beltran in a rematch once his jaw has recovered, so that they can find out who the better man is.
"I knew it was close. I was trying to stick to my jab but I think he could see that my jaw had gone, he came in with swinging hooks," he told Sky Sports News.
"I've never been so worried as in that fight at being caught on the jaw again, the pain was unbelievable. I'm just so disappointed because it happened so early. I hope we can just get this jaw sorted and me and Raymundo can do it again.
"I wanted to put on a better performance. Throughout that fight I was more concentrating on not getting my jaw hit, getting in close and tying him up, trying to stop him from hitting me. The knockdown, I take my hat off him it was a good shot, but it was more of a flash knockdown and it proves I can take a good shot."
It was the first draw of Burns's 39-fight professional career, which has yielded 36 wins and two defeats.
Joe Fish
