ON this evidence there is plenty of life in the old dog yet. Ricky Burns may be approaching the twilight of what has been an illustrious career but, presented last night with an unexpected opportunity to propel his way back into lightweight contention, the man from Coatbridge grabbed it with both hands.

The 35 year-old had been expected to fight in the United States next week but instead ended up being drafted in to take on Scotty Cardle in the Manchester Arena as a late replacement for stablemate Joe Cordina.

The lightweight bout on the undercard of the Oleksandr Usyk and Tony Bellew cruiserweight contest had been scheduled to go 10 rounds but Burns, in his 51st professional fight some 17 years after his first, only needed three to complete the 16th knock-out victory of his career.

Dominant from the first bell, the former three-weight world champion looked in complete control against Cardle who had no answer to Burns’ punching power and accuracy.

By the third round a cut had opened up above Cardle’s eye and, when a thudding right hand sent the Lytham fighter sprawling flat on his back as if a trapdoor had just opened up beneath him, the referee counted to eight before deciding Cardle, of Scottish parentage, had suffered enough. It was Burns’ quickest win since 2011.

“I don’t feel any different now to how I did when I first laced up the gloves,” said the evergreen Burns afterwards. “I felt good out there tonight. I was down to fight next week but we got offered the chance to come on this show and we jumped at the chance.

“It’s a great venue to fight in and I’m glad we got the win. The work that Tony [Sims, his trainer] puts in with me and all my gym-mates means I’m always ready.

“I’m always waiting for that phone call so hopefully there are still some big fights out there for me. I always treat every fight the same so that just felt like normal tonight.

“I felt like I was getting my shots off well and I got the win which is all that matters in my eyes. We’ll sit down now and see if we can get a big fight lined up for after the New Year.”

Defeat would likely have ended any prospect of Burns returning to the global stage but the victory, and the convincing nature of it, should ensure he is in the mix for big fights in the lightweight division next year.

“There are some big names out there and a couple of them have been calling me out on social media,” Burns revealed.

“But I just try to stay away from that. I’ll just leave that to [manager] Alex Morrison and [promoter] Eddie [Hearn].”

His dedication and commitment to training ensures that, even at 35, he can go toe to toe with fighters a decade younger.

“After every fight I’m always straight back in the gym,” Burns revealed. “I’m always keeping myself in shape. I might take a break from boxing and maybe eat too much and my weight goes up, but I’m always out running and keeping myself ticking over. So when I start back training I’ve always got a good base of fitness.”

Sims admitted Burns’ youthful spirit was a key to his longevity. “We call him Benjamin Button as he rolls back the years all the time,” said the trainer. “He surprises me all the time. You can still see Ricky is a world-class fighter. He’s still got a couple of big fights left in him.”