Burnett came through a tough battle in his hometown to win the world title unification at the SSE Arena in Belfast, Northern Ireland.
Burnett was made to work every step of the way by the incredibly relentless and tough Zhanat Zhakiyanov who surrendered his WBA title tonight.
This was added to Burnett’s IBF bantamweight world title that saw the Belfast man improve his record to 18-0-9KO.
The scorecards were perhaps a bit too wide in favor of Burnett in the end. Zhakiyanov gave an excellent account of himself pushing the pace and working on the front foot for much of the bout, gritting his teeth and fighting tooth and nail.
A real dog fight from the very beginning, Burnett’s superior shot selection and effective punches landed was enough to give him the unanimous points decision in the end in what proved to be an entertaining battle.
Here’s how fans had it before the scorecard was officially read out:
Burnett just Edged it for me #BurnettZhakiyanov
— Steven (@stevehotspurs) October 21, 2017
Ricky Hatton didn’t even pretend he thought his lad had won, classy stuff #BurnettZhakiyanov
— Francis (@FraMcShane) October 21, 2017
Great scrap that one ? @ryanburnett01 must have this ? #BurnettZhakiyanov #SkySportsBoxing
— Luke (@1892LFC2017) October 21, 2017
Two tough, tough fellas in the ring, there. Dunno how they both stayed on their feet in the 12th. Full credit to them.#BurnettZhakiyanov
— Si Owens (@keysbasher) October 21, 2017
115-113 @ryanburnett01. Host of swing rds. Should be good range of scores. If its 3x 118-110 RB, ZZ never stood a chance. #BurnettZhakiyanov
— Boxing Bet Guru (@Richboxingbets) October 21, 2017
Burnett edged it for me! Shown versatility tonight!! ZZ tho.. what a fighter! Some engine & chin, jeez! #BurnettZhakiyanov
— Matt Mainwaring (@MattyMainwaring) October 21, 2017
Great fight, Burnett by a couple for me #BurnettZhakiyanov
— paddy davidson (@paddydavidson) October 21, 2017
zz wins by 3 points for me #BurnettZhakiyanov
— Willy mckinlay (@Bhoy84) October 21, 2017
Got to be Burnett #BurnettZhakiyanov
— Altesse Kyezu (@AltesseFitFun) October 21, 2017