Boxing: McMillan and Thain head for LA to prepare for Burns night

EDINBURGH boxers Gary McMillan and John Thain will prepare for fights on the undercard of Ricky Burns’ world title showdown with Kevin Mitchell in September by embarking on a two-week training camp at Freddie Roach’s world-famous Wild Card gym in Los Angeles.

The duo are both in line to feature as Coatbridge star Burns defends his lightweight crown against Englishman Mitchell at the SECC and their plans will be boosted by the pre-fight trip to trainer Roach’s headquarters at the end of next month.

The news comes after both McMillan and Thain proved successful in their respective bouts against English opposition at the Kelvin Hall in Glasgow last weekend.

McMillan, 25, was up against Kevin McCauley and admits he felt comfortable throughout his 60-53 victory despite 
hurting his left hand in the 
second round.

The light-middleweight 
fighter said: “I did hurt my hand when I threw a punch to his head and managed to knock him down, but I was completely in control for the entire fight and didn’t even get hit once. He was trying every trick in the book just to survive so it was a bit of a messy fight with him holding on but I certainly found it no bother.”

Thain, also competing at 
light-middleweight, was pitched against Birmingham-based Tony Randell and emerged 
victorious winning by 59 points to 55, but admitted his opponent proved to be no pushover.

The 24-year-old said: “He was a tricky opponent as he was quite tall and had a lot to offer with a few uppercuts and 
looping right hands so I had to keep myself focused.”