THERE was a popular fad in the 1990s for presenting music in its rawest form. Rather than the traditional bombast of turning everything up to 11, MTV Unplugged stripped it back to the basics. Often it was simply one singer, one guitar and a stool. And it was hugely popular.

Now it is sport’s turn to try the same. Provisional guidelines laid out this week for boxing’s planned return in July will deliver a product like nothing seen before. There will be no showmanship or razzamatazz. No raucous crowd. No announcers or ring girls. No massive venue.

Instead, this will be boxing pared down to the necessities in a bid to combat the threat of the coronavirus. Two fighters, their corners, the referees and judges, all inside a television studio. The minimum staff required to send a live broadcast all around the world. Protective equipment, pre-fighting testing and quarantine. This is how boxing hopes to get back on its feet this summer.

Among those set to be the first to venture into this brave new world is Paul Kean. The Dundee boxer is hoping to become the WBO super-welterweight European champion on July 11 on the undercard of the much-anticipated heavyweight bash between Daniel Dubois and Joe Joyce.

The atmosphere will be more like a sparring session rather than a title bout but the Kynoch Boxing man is happy to meet all the requirements – including wearing PPE until he reaches the ring – if it means he can get back to boxing. And, given the furious onslaught he will likely face from the unbeaten Englishman Hamzah Sheeraz, the prospect of becoming increasingly vulnerable to catching the virus is not at the forefront of his thoughts.

“I don’t really feel worried about getting it in that situation,” said the 27 year-old. “Not if they take all the proper precautions like they’ve been talking about.

“Let’s face it - my job is to go into the ring and get punched in the face! So once you learn to accept that, then you can deal with anything else. You can’t really worry about your health too much. You just get on with it.

“It’s a massive card and there’s going to be a lot of eyes on it. It makes sense for the promoters to put this on as there probably won’t be any other sport on at that point. And the pubs will probably still be closed so everyone will be at home watching it on the telly. So I’d imagine they’ll be making a few quid out of this if it goes ahead as it’s going to be massively popular.

“It will be weird fighting behind closed doors but it will probably suit me more than him. He’s used to competing in big noisy arenas like the O2 and Wembley. Whereas a lot of my fights have been in smaller venues and not always a lot of fans. So I’ve shown before I don’t need a noisy atmosphere to perform.

“It’s a huge fight for me at this point in my career so I’m putting everything into it. This is the fittest I’ve been for ages. If I win this fight it can really open doors for me. With a European title to your name you’ll be on bigger cards and TV shows more often so I really need to do all I can to get that belt.”

One of the other requirements is for boxers to try to not spit during the contest. Kean thinks that might be ambitious, given the sweat lashing off boxers and the bodily contact that is a regular feature of any bout.

“They say they don’t want us to spit but you’re going to be slavering all over the guy anyway!” laughed Kean.

“You’re basically cuddling each other at different points of a fight. But whatever the measures are I’m happy to go along with it just so I can get it on.

“I think the plan will be for me to go down there a week before to get tested and then you’re in quarantine leading up to the fight.

“I just hope I don’t do a 12-week training camp and then get a positive test the week before! That would be a nightmare. But hopefully it won’t come to that. I’m just delighted to have the chance to be back fighting again.”