Ricky Burns admits he has no qualms being part of the warm-up act for Tony Bellew’s eagerly-anticipated pay-per-view showdown with undisputed cruiserweight champion Oleksandr Usyk.
The former three-weight world champion has stepped in at late notice to fight Scotty Cardle in tomorrow’s lightweight contest at the Manchester Arena.
Burns was due to compete in America a week later but the 35-year-old, who has been used to taking centre stage in his illustrious career, insists he is more than happy to take on Cardle as a replacement for the injured Joe Cordina.
Burns said: “The main event is the one for me, when it was first mentioned being on this show, not only do you get to box on it but you get to sit back and watch the main event as well.
"Fingers crossed Tony can go out there and pull it off.
“I am more than happy to step in and I will fight anybody.
“I’ve been looking on social media and you can see people are saying that all the pressure is on me because I’m expected to win but I treat every fight the same and this is no different.
“We’re confident of going in and getting the job done.”
Cardle, younger brother of former Dunfermline winger Joe, said: “Getting in the ring with Ricky is an achievement in itself.
“My five-year plan was to be at world level and in all seriousness I’ve underachieved, so going into a fight like this, it can fast-track me to some big fights and open some good doors for me.
“I am very grateful Ricky stepped in.
“A loss on Saturday night would cost a lot so I think we both know what’s on the line.”
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