RICKY BURNS is a trained motor mechanic so he knows a thing or two about bumpy journeys. It is a little more than a year since the former two-time world champion was declared bankrupt following a messy and very public split from his then-promoter Frank Warren, four since he suffered a broken jaw at the hands of Raymundo Beltran that threatened to end his career. Tonight’s WBA super lightweight title fight brings a fork in the road back to redemption: beat European champion Michele Di Rocco inside the SSE Hydro and the collective burden of carrying Scottish boxing's hopes on his shoulders will lighten a little; lose and the future appears less certain.

The 33-year-old is milling around outside the doors of a very exclusive club. Should he defeat di Rocco, he will join a select group of boxers who have won world titles at three weights. The names of the 43 fighters to have achieved the distinction read like a who’s who of the sport's finest with Roberto Duran, Sugar Ray Leonard, Hector Camacho, Roy Jones Jr, Oscar de la Hoya, Manny Pacquiao, Erik Morales and Floyd Mayweather among their number.

Should Burns etch his name on to the list he will, according to his promoter Eddie Hearn, propel himself into the rank of British greats.

“I believe a win on Saturday puts him up there,” argues Hearn, who believes Burns has never quite got the credit he deserves, the erstwhile WBO super featherweight and lightweight champion. “Sometimes you need to do something a bit special to get up there when you’ve not quite had the platform. To become a three-weight world champion, you can’t be ignored. Winning a world title makes you a legend, winning at two different weights definitely makes you a legend - but to do it at three? Even the haters couldn’t argue with that.”

Burns has never hidden his desire to box on, once claiming he would happily fight 100 times in his career but ever since the toxic legal battle with his former promoter in 2013 left him with debts of more than £400,000 there is now a practical need for him to extend it. Hearn seems like the kind of guy who could sell snow to the eskimos in winter and sell it to them all over again as bottled water in summer. Which is good news for Burns.

Nevertheless, he refutes the idea his boxer is simply searching for one last pay day arguing, instead, that he remains as devoted to the sport as he was when, as a 12-year-old, he first rocked up at Rab Bannan's gym in Coatbridge though Hearn similarly acknowledges that a victory over his Italian opponent this evening would safeguard the Scot’s financial future.

“A win would set him up for life and the aim in boxing is to make as much money as you can,” adds Hearn. “But that is the furthest thing from Ricky’s mind. Honestly. Ricky lives in a loft in a house in Brentwood [London] when he’s in camp. He could stay in a very nice hotel but he doesn’t want to. He just wants a bed. He’d live there all his life and just have his gym. When you have a guy who lives such a simple life, the purses he will be getting as world champion again will make him very comfortable. But you can talk about money or about legacy. Even if he doesn’t win I’d think Scottish sport will always look after him in terms of being one of the greats.”

Hearn recognises, too, that while tonight could result in a place in the history books there is a risk. Burns has never truly convinced at the weight and there is a sense that it is now or never for him after fights in the US and England en route to the di Rocco bout.

“Ideally, Ricky would be campaigning at lightweight,” he says. “He’s probably stuck between the two weights at about 137 or 138lbs. Up at 140lbs is probably a disadvantage for him but the opportunity was too good to turn down. We were looking for an excuse to come back to Scotland and didn’t feel like a final eliminator was big enough. Ricky comes through this and straight away we’ve got another date for October in the Hydro and it reignites Scottish boxing.

Hearn admits that he feels Burns has had to carry the burden of Scottish boxing hopes for too long and has urged the new breed of Charlie Flynn, Joe Ham and Josh Taylor to assume the mantle. If this evening proves to be a success – 8000 are anticipated inside the Hydro – then Hearn has not ruled out the possibility of putting on an all-Scottish card in Glasgow.

“I feel a bit for Ricky,” says Hearn. “It seems like every time he is here, Scottish boxing is on his shoulders. It was like that two years ago [when he lost to Dejan Zlaticanin] and here we are again. We have guys like Charlie Flynn coming through, but they all know they need a headliner for Sky. In time it will be them headlining but that’s two years away. I can’t see why not in future. Charlie is a little superstar.”

All that’s left is for Burns to win. Alas, his opponent is no mug having suffered just one defeat in his 42 professional bouts and by way of comparison he stopped the Frenchman Alexandre Lepelley in a European title defence last year when Burns merely outpointed him in 2014. Nevertheless, he believes a packed venue will play into the Scot’s hands.

“My dad always told me when the going gets tough, the Italians don’t quite have the heart for it. I don’t know if that’s true but Ricky has got to be on him like a rash. Make the crowd roar every time there’s a punch thrown – and break his heart.”