For the fighters who have dominated Scottish boxing in recent years so much is at stake – glory, redemption, fulfilment – that the next 12 months may redefine careers.
Since Scott Harrison turned professional in 1996, he, Alex Arthur, Willie Limond and Ricky Burns have been the star men in this country. For so long, Harrison was the dominant figure: aggressive, fierce, relentless, with an endless capacity for fury and ambition. There was a sense of tragedy in the way his life unravelled, his battles with alcohol, with his temper, with time spent behind bars in Spain.
The contrast with the man who supplanted him was vivid enough to be a constant reminder of Harrison's fallibilities. The year after the former WBO featherweight champion was jailed in Spain, Burns won the WBO super-featherweight title at the Kelvin Hall. He is a quiet, unassuming, polite and dedicated young man, almost ambivalent towards the fame and status of his position as a world champion, and capable of constantly resetting the boundaries of his career.
Having begun to struggle with making the weight, Burns moved up to lightweight last year, and promptly won the interim WBO title with a professional and technically-polished dismantling of Michael Katsidis at Wembley Arena in November. Burns is waiting for the WBO champion, Juan Manuel Marquez, to either agree to a fight or relinquish his title to Burns, whose next contest will be on March 10 in Glasgow, most likely at the Kelvin Hall against Anthony Crolla, Kevin Mitchell or John Murray.
Burns has moved to where Harrison once was, but Harrison has regained his boxing licence and is determined to return to the ring. He is 34 and has not fought for six years, but there is something flinty and uncompromising about the former world champion that suppresses the urge to dismiss him.
He remains contracted to Frank Warren and has been training ever since his release from jail. Sparring partners talk about his power and his commitment in the gym but the questions are about his reflexes and the snap of his punches. Harrison's determination was always his most powerful attribute, along with his incessant hostility, but he will need to move up, probably to lightweight, where his opponents will be bigger and stronger, as well as younger.
Arthur and Limond, who both briefly rose to prominence, are in different places. Arthur is pursuing the last of his career at light-welterweight, while Limond is to continue despite losing comprehensively to Crolla. Beyond the established names, Callum Johnson continues to progress as a professional and John Simpson is not yet ready to retire.
Room has to be made, though, for Lee McAllister. The Aberdeen boxer will face 24-year-old Russian southpaw Denis Shafikov at the city's Exhibition Centre on February 25 for the European light- welterweight title. McAllister is a captivating individual, full of rough edges and raw gusto and this fight is an opportunity to reach for a higher stage.
In a year when Amir Khan will look to regain his prominence on the world stage, when Vitali Klitschko will face Dereck Chisora for the WBC heavyweight title, and Carl Froch will look to redeem himself after losing to Andre Ward, Scottish boxing has its own fascinations. For Burns and Harrison, this might be the year that brings a prospective clash ever closer.
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