Ryan Burnett facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Ryan Burnett
Statistics
Rated at	Bantamweight
Height	5 ft 4 in
Reach	66 in
Nationality	Irish
Born	(1992-05-21) 21 May 1992 (age 33) Belfast, Northern Ireland
Stance	Orthodox
Boxing record
Total fights	21
Wins	20
Wins by KO	10
Losses	1
Medal record Representing  Ireland Youth Olympic Games Gold 2010 Singapore Light-flyweight World Youth Championships Silver 2010 Baku Light-flyweight

Ryan Burnett (born on May 21, 1992) is an Irish former professional boxer. He competed from 2013 to 2019. Ryan was a "unified" world champion in the bantamweight division. This means he held two major world titles at the same time: the WBA (Unified) and IBF titles, from 2017 to 2018. Before becoming a world champion, he held the British bantamweight title from 2015 to 2017. As an amateur boxer, he won a gold medal at the 2010 Summer Youth Olympics.

Ryan Burnett's Early Life

Ryan Burnett was born in Belfast, Northern Ireland. He is the middle child of three brothers. Ryan went to St Patrick's College, a Catholic school. He became interested in boxing when he was only four years old.

Ryan started training at Belfast's Kronk Gym. Later, he moved to Gerry Storey's Holy Family Boxing Club. This gym was famous for bringing together boxers from different religious and political backgrounds. Boxers like Ryan and Paddy Barnes trained there alongside boxers from unionist backgrounds, such as Carl Frampton. This helped to break down barriers in their community over the years.

Ryan's Amateur Boxing Career

As an amateur, Ryan Burnett had a great record. He won 94 fights and only lost 4. He even said he disagreed with most of those losses! Ryan became the number one youth amateur boxer in the world according to the AIBA.

He won seven All Ireland titles and four Ulster titles. He also earned several medals in international tournaments. The best parts of his amateur career were winning a silver medal at the World Youth Championships and a gold medal at the Olympic Youth Games. After winning these medals, Ryan got a back injury. This kept him out of competition for a year. It also made it harder for him to succeed at the senior level. Not long after getting back in shape, Ryan decided to become a professional boxer.

Winning at the 2010 World Youth Championships

Ryan Burnett fought five times in seven days to reach the final of the AIBA Youth World Boxing Championships in Baku. He beat boxers from Germany, Italy, and Colombia in the first rounds. In the quarter-finals, he won against Filipino fighter Mark Anthony Barriga. In the semi-finals, he defeated Cuban fighter Yosvany Veitía.

In the final, Ryan faced Salman Alizade from Azerbaijan. After a very tough week, the local favorite won the fight. Ryan went home with a silver medal.

Earning Gold at the 2010 Olympic Youth Games

Ryan Burnett won a gold medal at the first-ever Youth Olympic Games in 2010. He became the first boxing gold medalist in the Youth Olympics. The games took place in Singapore. In the semi-final, Ryan defeated Zohidion Hoorboyev from Uzbekistan.

In the final, Ryan met Salman Alizade again. He had lost to Alizade in the World Championships. Alizade was the world number one at the time. But Ryan got his revenge with a strong 13–6 victory, winning the gold medal!

Ryan Burnett's Professional Boxing Journey

Bantamweight Division

Starting His Professional Career

Ryan Burnett became a professional boxer in January 2012. He signed a deal with Hatton Promotions. He then moved to Manchester, England, where he was trained by the company's founder, former world champion Ricky Hatton.

Later, Hatton Promotions faced some difficulties. Ryan had to leave their team in September 2014. After not fighting for a while, he joined Adam Booth in London to restart his professional career.

In November 2015, Ryan got a chance to fight for the vacant British bantamweight title. He fought against former champion Jason Booth. Ryan knocked Booth down in the first round. He won the fight by a unanimous decision, meaning all judges agreed he won. In January 2016, it was announced that Ryan would fight on the same night as fellow Belfast boxer Carl Frampton. This was at the Manchester Arena on February 27, 2016. Ryan faced Anthony Settoul from France for the WBC International bantamweight title. Ryan performed very well and won by another unanimous decision.

Ryan Burnett vs. Lee Haskins

On April 27, 2017, it was announced that Ryan Burnett would challenge Lee Haskins for the IBF bantamweight world title. The fight took place on June 10 at the SSE Arena in Belfast. This was Haskins' third time defending his title. Ryan was very excited about his first world title challenge. He said he always dreamed of being the main fighter in Belfast for a world title.

Ryan defeated Haskins to win his first world title. He became Northern Ireland's first world bantamweight champion in 20 years. Ryan knocked Haskins down twice during the fight. Both boxers also got cuts from accidentally bumping heads. The judges initially gave a split decision, but it was later changed to a unanimous decision. This happened because one judge made a mistake on their scorecard. After the fight, Ryan's promoter, Eddie Hearn, said that a new star was born in Belfast.

Ryan Burnett vs. Zhanat Zhakiyanov

Ryan wanted to unify the titles, meaning he wanted to hold more than one world title at the same time. On August 2, 2017, a deal was made for him to defend his IBF title against WBA Undisputed champion Zhanat Zhakiyanov. The fight happened at the SSE Arena in Belfast on October 21. Ricky Hatton, who used to train Ryan, was Zhakiyanov's trainer.

In front of a large crowd cheering for Ryan, he won by a wide unanimous decision over Zhakiyanov. This made him the unified IBF and WBA bantamweight champion. The judges all scored the fight in Ryan's favor. Both fighters fought closely. Zhakiyanov started strong, but Ryan began to use his jab more and found his rhythm. By the end, Ryan was landing cleaner punches.

Ryan Burnett vs. Yonfrez Parejo

In January 2018, Ryan was scheduled to fight Yonfrez Parejo, who was the mandatory challenger for his WBA title. This fight took place on March 31 at the Principality Stadium in Cardiff. Ryan dominated Parejo over 12 rounds and kept his WBA title.

Ryan started the fight very well. Parejo tried to attack more from round 3, but Ryan used his skills and defense to make Parejo miss many punches. Ryan got a cut over his left eye in round 7 from a clash of heads, but it didn't stop him. He continued to out-work Parejo. Ryan also injured his right hand in round 3. The judges all scored the fight in favor of Ryan.

World Boxing Super Series Tournament

On May 9, 2018, it was announced that the World Boxing Super Series tournament would include bantamweight boxers. Ryan, along with WBO champion Zolani Tete and IBF champion Emmanuel Rodriguez, were the first three boxers announced for the tournament.

Ryan Burnett vs. Nonito Donaire

Ryan chose to fight former four-weight world champion Nonito Donaire in the quarter-finals. Donaire had moved down two weight divisions to join the tournament. Their fight took place at The SSE Hydro in Glasgow on November 3, 2018.

Ryan seemed to win the first two rounds. Donaire then started to box smarter in round 3. During round 4, Ryan reached for his lower back after throwing some punches. He was counted as knocked down by Donaire. Ryan finished the round but could not come out for round five. Ryan lost his WBA belt and was out of the tournament. Donaire showed respect to Ryan instead of celebrating. Ryan was helped in the ring and later taken out on a stretcher. The injury was a tear in his right internal oblique muscle. Ryan had past back problems but said this injury was not serious enough to end his career.

Super-bantamweight Division

Signing with Top Rank

On April 11, 2019, Ryan Burnett announced he would return to the ring. This was for an MTK Global show at the Ulster Hall in Belfast on May 17, 2019. He was scheduled to fight Filipino boxer Jelbirt Gomera for the vacant WBC International super-bantamweight title. Ryan said he wanted to become a world champion in two different weight classes. As part of MTK's deal with Top Rank, the fight was shown live on ESPN+ in the United States. On April 29, Ryan signed a multi-fight deal with Top Rank.

Ryan was faster and better than Gomera. He landed many punches to Gomera's body. Gomera complained to the referee that the body shots were too low, and the referee warned Ryan twice. In the sixth round, Gomera complained again and turned his back. The referee stopped the fight right away, giving Ryan the TKO win.

Retirement from Boxing

On October 25, 2019, Ryan Burnett announced he was retiring from boxing. He said it was because of ongoing injuries. Ryan stated, "Although my retirement is forced through injuries, I carry a heart full of satisfaction and gratitude."

Ryan Burnett's Professional Boxing Record

No.	Result	Record	Opponent	Type	Round, time	Date	Location	Notes
21	Win	20–1	Jelbirt Gomera	TKO	6 (10), 2:01	17 May 2019	Ulster Hall, Belfast, Northern Ireland
20	Loss	19–1	Nonito Donaire	RTD	4 (12), 3:00	3 Nov 2018	The SSE Hydro, Glasgow, Scotland	Lost WBA (Super) bantamweight title; World Boxing Super Series: bantamweight quarter-final
19	Win	19–0	Yonfrez Parejo	UD	12	31 Mar 2018	Principality Stadium, Cardiff, Wales	Retained WBA (Unified) bantamweight title
18	Win	18–0	Zhanat Zhakiyanov	UD	12	21 Oct 2017	SSE Arena, Belfast, Northern Ireland	Retained IBF bantamweight title; Won WBA (Unified) bantamweight title
17	Win	17–0	Lee Haskins	UD	12	10 Jun 2017	SSE Arena, Belfast, Northern Ireland	Won IBF bantamweight title; Originally an SD, later ruled a UD after an incorrect judge's scorecard
16	Win	16–0	Joseafat Reyes	PTS	8	25 Feb 2017	Hull Arena, Hull, England
15	Win	15–0	Ryan Farrag	UD	12	15 Oct 2016	Echo Arena, Liverpool, England	Retained British bantamweight title
14	Win	14–0	Cesar Ramirez	UD	10	30 Jul 2016	First Direct Arena, Leeds, England	Retained WBC International bantamweight title
13	Win	13–0	Anthony Settoul	UD	10	27 Feb 2016	Manchester Arena, Manchester, England	Won vacant WBC International bantamweight title
12	Win	12–0	Jason Booth	UD	12	21 Nov 2015	Manchester Arena, Manchester, England	Won vacant British bantamweight title
11	Win	11–0	Robert Kanalas	TKO	2 (10), 1:24	10 Oct 2015	Manchester Arena, Manchester, England	Won vacant WBO European bantamweight title
10	Win	10–0	Csaba Kovacs	TKO	2 (8), 1:32	4 Jul 2015	National Stadium, Dublin, Ireland
9	Win	9–0	Stephon McIntyre	KO	1 (6), 2:59	11 Apr 2015	Barclays Center, New York City, New York, US
8	Win	8–0	Faycal Messaoudene	PTS	6	27 Mar 2015	York Hall, London, England
7	Win	7–0	Isaac Owusu	TKO	2 (6), 0:26	27 Feb 2015	IceSheffield, Sheffield, England
6	Win	6–0	Stefan Slavchev	TKO	4 (4), 0:42	29 Nov 2014	York Hall, London, England
5	Win	5–0	Valentin Marinov	TKO	1 (6), 3:00	22 Nov 2014	The Devenish Complex, Belfast, Northern Ireland
4	Win	4–0	Sergio Perez	UD	6	16 Nov 2013	National Gymnasium of Natural Sciences and Mathematics, Vratsa, Bulgaria
3	Win	3–0	Reynaldo Cajina	TKO	2 (4), 1:52	19 Oct 2013	Odyssey Arena, Belfast, Northern Ireland
2	Win	2–0	Elemir Rafael	TKO	2 (4), 2:05	28 Jun 2013	Holiday Inn Ormeau Avenue, Belfast, Northern Ireland
1	Win	1–0	Laszlo Nemesapati	KO	1 (4), 1:14	24 May 2013	Liverpool Olympia, Liverpool, England

See also

In Spanish: Ryan Burnett para niños