GLASGOW, Scotland – It was a Happy 34th Birthday at the Marriott Hotel for WBA junior welterweight titleholder Ricky Burns and the Scotsman’s much desired gift, IBF counterpart Julius Indongo, is also looking forward to the big fight party at the SSE Hydro in Glasgow, Scotland on Saturday.

Burns, who is rated No. 4 by THE RING at junior welterweight, once held WBO belts at junior lightweight and lightweight. In May of last year, however, he made a permanent move to 140 pounds and captured a vacant title with an eighth round stoppage of Michele Di Rocco. Burns (45-4-1, 14 knockouts) then outpointed mandatory challenger Kiryl Relikh, before requesting a unification clash with Indongo.

“This is just a huge fight, a huge event,” said Matchroom Boxing boss Eddie Hearn. “The amount of great nights we’ve had out of (Ricky Burns) has been sensational but, by his own admission, this is the biggest night of his career.

“In Julius Indongo, we have one of the very best, one of the most dangerous fighters, and punchers, in world boxing. He’s coming off that win in Russia, a first-round knockout over (Eduard) Troyanovsky to win the IBF championship. We know this is a very tough fight but the reward is to become a huge star in the sport. For Ricky Burns, that is all he’s ever been determined to do: win belts, achieve and create a legacy.”

Photo: Shabba Shafiq

Indongo, rated No. 6 by THE RING, was a relatively unknown quantity until one thunderous left hand to the tip of Troyanovsky’s chin changed everything last December. The Namibian southpaw, who represented his country at the Beijing Olympics in 2008, exhibited a quiet confidence throughout today’s press conference.

“Once again, I’d like to wish (Ricky Burns) a happy birthday,” offered the visitor with a wry smile. “This will be an amazing night. It will be an honor to see (Burns) stand in front of me because I’m prepared for this and I’ve been in this game for a very long time. Maybe I should just say, ‘May the best man win.’”

This will be the first unification fight ever held on Scottish soil. Therefore, Burns, his country’s first three-division titleholder, is looking to make yet more history at the expense of Indongo, who is unbeaten in 21 fights (with 11 KOs).

“I’m really looking forward to this,” said Burns, who had his game face on with over 48 hours until fight time. “Of all the fights that were offered, this one was always top choice for me, and it’s the hardest. We’ve struggled to be get footage of Julius but, off what we have saw, we’ve trained for a hard 12 rounds. He’s southpaw, tall, awkward; it’s going to be a very tough fight but we’re prepared for whatever is coming our way.

“People wrote me off after back-to-back defeats (to Terence Crawford and Dejan Zlaticanin) but I’d be the first to admit if I didn’t have it anymore. I just wouldn’t be doing it. For me, this is the biggest fight of my career. Unification fights were talked about (at 130 and 135 pounds) but now we’re a couple of days away and I’m very excited.”

The event will air on Sky Sports 2 in the U.K. Tickets are on general sale priced at £40, £60 and £100 from www.thessehydro.com and £200 VIP exclusively at www.matchroomboxing.com

Tom Gray is a U.K. Correspondent/ Editor for RingTV.com and a member of THE RING ratings panel. Follow him on Twitter: @Tom_Gray_Boxing.

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