Opportunity has opened up, though. On Saturday, the 22-year-old challenges Arthur for his British, Commonwealth and European titles at Meadowbank. His first headline bout, his first title fight, his first time of standing out. Grievances, though, will lie at the heart of his approach.
In February last year, Burns agreed, at five days’ notice, to face Graham Earl, the British and Commonwealth lightweight champion, in a catchweight, non-title contest in London. He was expected to provide a challenge but not a consuming one, but he defeated Earl on points. It was the Englishman’s first defeat and in the dressing room afterwards, he congratulated Burns earnestly. The victory hinted at Burns’s potential, but the three contests he has had since were also taken at short notice and he has not fought for the last seven months. Opponents are now wary. Instead of hope, frustration has risen within him.
“I packed in my job as a mechanic and so I only get paid when I fight. It’s been difficult,” he says. “My mum has been keeping me. Everybody has been ducking and diving and trying to stay out of my road. I’ve offered to fight Michael Gomez, I’ve offered to fight Kevin Mitchell and neither wanted to know anything. When I defeated Earl, I thought it would at least have been in the papers, but when I came back to Glasgow it wasn ’t anywhere. It all sets you back a bit, but I’ve got the chance now and it’s up to me to grab it.”
Bannon has trained Burns since he walked into the Barn Boxing Club in Coatbridge, aged 10, with his two brothers, and is a forceful, rasping presence. “We’re not taking Arthur lightly,” he leers, “but we expect to beat him. I think he’ll stop him. I know quality and Arthur’s not quality. Gomez proved that when he wiped him out. When Alex was a boy, one of our lads, John Watson, beat him, but we didn ’t get the decision. So whenever I see him, I tap him on the head and say, ‘I’m going to hang your scalp on my belt’.”
Bannon shares the bullishness of all trainers ahead of a fight. “One hundred and six amateur fights,” he grimaces, nodding at Burns, “and 100 wins.” As a professional, though, Burns has stopped only two opponents and Arthur will enter the ring with far greater experience. This will be the 27-year-old’s 23rd fight and he has lost only once, to Gomez. Arthur has also changed trainer, for the fourth time in his career , and is now with Wayne McCulloch, the Northern Irishman based in Las Vegas. Arthur spent four weeks in America and McCulloch will fly in to Edinburgh to be in his corner. The regime is unorthodox, but Arthur has impressed in his recent outings, particularly his more honed defence, and this mandatory fight against Burns is seen as a stepping stone to the world title fight he craves.
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Burns does not cower from reputations. He once followed an opponent into the toilet before a fight and told him he was going to knock him down, and as he walked to the ring past Earl, he turned to the Englishman and said the same thing. He has been working on evading Arthur’s jarring body punches, which remain his most potent weapon, and quick footwork and handspeed will ensure he won’t be an easy target. He has sparred with Docherty and Arthur and all that will be new to him is what is at stake.
“If I wasn’t fighting Alex I’d have to be thinking about getting a part-time job to help me financially,” he adds. “But I said I’d give boxing a go full-time for five years. This is my opportunity. Alex had the chance to fight Willie Limond and I think he took me because he thought it was the easier option. But he’s wrong. In the papers it’s all been about what he’s going to do after this, but I ’ll do my talking in the ring.”
Burns’s unblemished face tells of a fighter adept at keeping his head out of trouble, but he does not lack a thirst for confrontation. It is Arthur, though, who has everything to lose. He is rated No3 in the world by the WBO and, having defeated Limond and Docherty, a third win over a Scottish opponent would steer him a step closer to a challenge against Jorge Barrios, the WBO champion.
Burns was originally due to face Alessandro di Meco in Italy for the European Union superfeatherweight belt, but opted to face Arthur. It is a gamble, yet could pay off even in defeat as it would raise his profile. After his first paid fight, on Audley Harrison’s undercard at the Kelvin Hall in 2001, the watching Marvin Hagler described him as “the best prospect I’ve seen in years”.
It is a resounding compliment, but one that Burns is still striving to live up to.
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The TV Fight
Alex Arthur v Ricky Burns, Saturday, ITV4, 10pm