T HE doubters appear to have decreed that the narrative of Ricky Burns' career is now locked irreversibly in a downward spiral.

They feel that the one-time WBO lightweight and super-featherweight champion, a man who once played to sell-out shows and famous nights in Glasgow, shouldn't be demeaning himself by fighting down the bill in Leeds, and moving to another new weight class at the age of 31.

Even his promoter, Eddie Hearn, bluntly stated after the Scot's last fight - the loss on points to Montenegrin Dejan Zlaticanin at Braehead in June - that Burns may never fight at world-title level again.

The one person who hasn't been consulted in all of this, however, is Burns himself and his view is that he is merely turning the pages to an exciting new chapter.

Working with Tony Sims at his gym in Ilford, Essex, as he prepares for Saturday night's Yorkshire bout with 32-year-old Leonardo Esteban Gonzalez (22-5-1, 15 kos) of Argentina at the First Direct Arena, Burns (36-4-1, 11 kos) only feels liberated by the knowledge that he no longer needs to shrink himself to meet that 9st 9lbs limit.

While that trademark commitment to training remains, he looks more comfortable in his own body, whilst a revolving door of sparring partners - John Ryder, Ohara Davies, Martin Ward, Lenny Daws, Olympic gold medallist Luke Campbell - have played their part in preparing him for his light welterweight debut.

Burns is too grounded and canny to fully articulate an ambition to be a third weight-class world champion but neither does he give the impression of a man counting down the days. For a start, each of his fortnight-long training stints in Essex drags this likeable product of Coatbridge away from his one-year-old son Leon.

"Before the last fight, when I switched trainers to Tony Sims, I did a lot of work with dieticians and stuff like that," said Burns. "He put me on the scales and said the amount of muscle I was carrying for a lightweight was far too high. The last couple of fights I have been struggling getting down to the limit. It meant burning into muscle.

"After discussing it with him we felt as if the next move was to switch weights and move up to light welterweight. Don't get me wrong, whatever weight you are fighting at, you are always going to struggle to lose the last couple of pounds. But I am going to feel a lot more comfortable and feel a lot stronger on fight night."

Saturday night will be the first time Burns has fought outwith Scotland since beating Michael Katsidis on points in London in November 2011, but he will hardly be short of support. Not only is a healthy contingent of his usual audience expected down in Yorkshire, but he has the support of countrymen David Brophy and Stephen Simmons on the bill.

"Straight after the fight Eddie said it was time to take me away from Scotland, to take the pressure off me altogether," he said. "With the fight being in Leeds, there is a good crowd coming down from Scotland, the usual boys who normally come out, plus there's a few other Scottish boys fighting.

"It is a cracking set up they have got down here [in Essex]. The amount of boxers they have got coming in here is unbelievable and I couldn't be happier with things. I have been trying to be away for two weeks, home for a weekend, then back down for two weeks - although it has been tough going. Leon has turned one so I am missing him quite a lot but hopefully it will all be worth it. I know this is my first fight outside Scotland in the last few years but I am looking forward to getting back in the ring."

To say the last 12 months has been challenging for Burns is putting it mildly. Things started going awry when he sustained a broken jaw in a controversial draw with Raymundo Beltran this time last year, then Terence Crawford took his title, and Zlaticanin took some of his dignity.

"The last fight, Zlaticanin, was a more crushing defeat than actually losing my world title," admitted Burns. "I should have been punching holes in him."

Big fights, both international and domestic, could yet await - anything from big guns such as Danny Garcia, Adrien Broner and Lamont Peterson to his countrymen Willie Limond and Scott Harrison. Burns will take it one fight at a time, but don't count him out just yet.