Ricky Burns insists he will not let hopes of fulfilling his American dream deter him from his fourth defence of his world title against Raymundo Beltran.
It was confirmed today that the WBO lightweight champion will face the highly-rated Mexican at the SECC in Glasgow on September 7.
The Scotsman's last outing in his home city last month saw him survive a scare against Jose Gonzalez as the Puerto Rican rattled the Coatbridge fighter before inexplicably retiring ahead of the 10th round.
The 30-year-old's promoter Eddie Hearn says the test posed by Beltran - who has won 28 of his 34 fights, including 17 stoppages - could be just what is needed to finally persuade US broadcasters that Burns is box-office material.
He told Press Association Sport: "This is a real credible fight that a lot of people will take notice of in America. They have seen a lot of Beltran and they like what they see. Check him out on YouTube, he's great to watch.
"He's a come-forward fighter, very tough, very aggressive. He likes to stand and trade and is coming off the back of three great wins. He beat Hank Lundy who is a big prospect in America. He also beat Ji-Hoon Kim who is a former World Champion.
"If I can I always want to keep Ricky in Scotland. The atmosphere is fantastic. Short-term, he will be here for the next two fights. But when you see the interest from people like HBO for Ricky to fight at Madison Square Gardens, that is something at some point in your career you want to achieve.
"At some point in the future he will go fight in America."
Burns has long stated that his dream is to one day fight in either New York of Las Vegas for the coveted Ring Magazine title but he insists Hearn's long-term plans are not for him to consider just yet.
"That's the sort of thing that you want to hear your promoter saying - talking about big fights and going to America," said Burns. "But I've always said one fight at a time.
"I know I've got a tough fight here and if I don't come through on September 7 then these fights aren't going to happen.
"So right now, Beltran has my full attention. I treat all my opponents with the respect they deserve. We know this will be a hard fight and I need to go out and win it first.
"Once I do that, we can look ahead at what's to come. But until my arm is raised, all the talks on that are on hold."
Burns returned from an eight-month absence to battle past Gonzalez, with Hearn putting his sluggish display down to ring rustiness.
But the fighter himself insists he will not be making an excuses this time.
He said: "It's going to be a very hard fight. He's a tough fighter and is ranked in the top 10 in most of the world rankings. You're not a chief sparring partner with Manny Pacquiao for no reason.
"My attitude for this fight will not change. I will prepare for a hard 12 rounds but the Scottish fans are in for a treat and a great night of boxing.
"When I fight I have always got doubters but I just go out to get the win and that is the main thing. A lot of people were saying after the last fight that I don't have a chance in the big fights. But for this fight I won't make the mistakes I made last time."
Burns has made it usual practice to keep his scouting work on future opponents to a minimum, preferring to work out their respective styles in the early rounds of each match.
However, after his Gonzalez scare - which saw him survive a furious onslaught in the seventh round at the Emirates Arena - he has admitted to a slight re-think.
"I've seen a couple of clips of Beltran fighting and I think this will be the only time I will maybe watch one or two of his fights," said the Scot. "But after that I will just be working on what I've got to do."
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