Former WBA and IBF bantamweight world champion Ryan Burnett believes he has overcome any fears surrounding a recurrence of an injury that caused him to concede his WBA belt and a place within the World Boxing Super Series bantamweight competition.
"I ripped my internal oblique," Burnett explained in conversation with Off the Ball, "and the muscle came off my hip-bone as well."
"We had the scans the day after the fight, and the doctor just said it was a complete freak injury."
Facing the Philippine boxer Nonito Donaire in a quarter-final bout of the WBSS tournament, the Northern Irish boxer had been leading on the judges' cards when injury struck in the 4th round.
Preparing now for his comeback in May after a six-month absence from action, Burnett isn't fazed by the prospect of such misfortune striking him twice.
"No, I don't think so," responded Ryan Burnett to Andy Lee's concerns that he may be hampered by memories of the injury going forward.
"I had the same questions in my own head from the time when I split my head open, would it open up again?
"It just didn't bother me, and it's the same with my side. I've just sort of forgotten about it now.
"Because there's no pain, there's no reminder, so my body feels as if it hasn't happened."
Weighing in on the 26-year-old's decision to move up to super-bantamweight for the upcoming bout with Jelbirt Gomera in Belfast's Ulster Hall, Burnett's trainer Adam Booth outlined what the plan is going forward.
"Be active and get a bit of momentum going," explained Booth of the immediate task at hand for Burnett.
"So, after this fight if there's nothing available that's significant in the near, foreseeable future, the plan will be to get him back in the ring as soon as possible.
"The fight being at super-bantamweight is just to open up other opportunities, because the difference between bantam and super-bantam isn't much.
"I believe that the harder fights, the more accomplished champions are actually in the bantamweight division, and ultimately Ryan is a bantamweight.
"Ideally, if a bantamweight world title came up, that's the one we'd go after."
Ryan Burnett's return bout against Gomera will take place on May 17.
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