IT IS a measure of Ricky Burns' desire to establish a lasting legacy that the WBA super lightweight champion flatly refused to even consider lowering his standards in exchange for a "softer" world title defence.
The 33-year-old from Coatbridge wrote his name in the record books last year when he became the first Scot in ring history and only the third Briton to achieve the status of three-weight world champion.
But that was clearly not enough for Burns, judging by his outright rejection of an offer to fight ageing American Paulie Malignaggi instead of dual world champion Julius Indongo – holder of the IBF and IBO belts – at the Hydro Arena on April 15.
Not only would Malignaggi almost certainly have proved much less of a challenge, it transpires that Burns would also have earned more had he agreed to the bout.
But that is not Burns' way. Honour is important to him so, consequently, he has opted to take a sizeable gamble in the hope of realising his dream of a superfight in Las Vegas.
Hearn said on a visit to Glasgow yesterday to promote next month's bill: "We offered Ricky Malignaggi, who is a good name and a good fighter, but he would have none of it.
"He would have been on better money than he is getting for Indongo. But as soon as he saw Indongo knock out Eduard Troyanovsky inside a round, he was on the phone demanding a unification bout.
"It's the same for Indongo. They turned down fights with Adrien Broner and Terence Crawford because they believe he can beat Ricky.
"Both camps have gambled on unifying and being in that golden position of being able to call the shots on a huge fight in America.
"Top Rank Promotions have already been on and whoever wins this one will be straight on the phone to Crawford.
"He has two belts and the winner of this one will have three and the chance to clean up doesn't come around very often."
Undefeated American Crawford already has Burns on his record after ending the Scot's reign as WBO lightweight champion in March 2014, and Hearn conceded: "He's a brilliant fighter.
"But Ricky was coming off the back of a broken jaw and he actually still gave Crawford one of the toughest fights he's had.
"However, Crawford's barely lost a round in his other bouts and I'm not saying Ricky would simply go and beat him.
"But when you are bringing three belts to the table then you are in a position to make millions of dollars, albeit I have never met anyone who thinks less about money than Ricky does. For him, it's about achievement, legacy, and inspiring others.
"Everyone in the gym looks up to him and he has a burning desire to go back there with three belts and stick them on the wall. That's what gives him a buzz.
"He lives for the gym. When he's down in Essex he lives in a little room in the loft with nothing but a bed and a fridge.
"He goes to the gym, eats his food and gets his rest. For everyone else it's a horrible life but for him it's heaven and he is so happy to get the chance of a unification bout. He's like a boxing fan."
Burns added: "This is what I've dreamed of for years. There were a few options on the table and probably a few easier fights, but this was the one I wanted.
"Unification has been talked about for so long and this was always my first choice. There is so much up for grabs and I can't wait."
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