A calculating mind was at work after Ricky Burns successfully defended his WBO lightweight title against Kevin Mitchell.
Frank Warren, the promoter, was valuing the options open to the champion, and there is money to be made in local rivalries. Warren was not being parochial when he talked enthusiastically of the prospect of Scott Harrison challenging Burns in the near future.
Harrison was twice the WBO featherweight champion before he could no longer control his demons, culminating in a spell inside a Spanish prison and seven years out of the ring. His second fight since regaining his boxing licence was against Joe Elfidh on the undercard of Burns' title defence at the SECC, and he won the six-round contest with a 60-53 points tally.
The champion will fight again in December, and Harrison would need to fit in two contests before then for Warren to be sure he is ready.
"Ricky Hatton's come back after two or three years out and we all know what was happening to him in his life," said the promoter. "Scott was doing some stupid things as well, but the difference was that he was still in condition. Even when he was in prison, he wasn't putting on weight. He was training. If he can keep himself out of trouble, that fight could happen."
Harrison is now 35, but he looks strong and determined, although Burns' display was a devastating mix of power and aplomb.
There were flashes of malevolence against Elfidh, but the Englishman was also the fourth-choice opponent, and only confirmed on Saturday morning, because Harrison's original foe failed to turn up. His frustration was evident.
"I just treated it as a work out," Harrison said. "The last time I did six rounds, I was 20 years old, I'm used to fighting title fights. That was just a spar, really. I left at the top without being beaten, so I feel ready. I'll keep myself in the gym until I fight again in November. [Facing Burns] would be a cracking fight for the country. Believe me, I'll be ready."
Setbacks need to be borne, though, and Harrison cannot allow himself to be troubled by resentment. "He was very lucky to get his licence back," Warren said. "At the moment, he seems to be behaving himself. If he can keep doing that, he will get a big fight."
Yet it is a fight that Harrison needs and Burns does not. The world champion can move forward from here, and the only benefit of taking on Harrison is financial. Harrison is also not the fighter he once was, and Burns may now be beyond the best that he can still muster.
Why are you making commenting on The Herald only available to subscribers?
It should have been a safe space for informed debate, somewhere for readers to discuss issues around the biggest stories of the day, but all too often the below the line comments on most websites have become bogged down by off-topic discussions and abuse.
heraldscotland.com is tackling this problem by allowing only subscribers to comment.
We are doing this to improve the experience for our loyal readers and we believe it will reduce the ability of trolls and troublemakers, who occasionally find their way onto our site, to abuse our journalists and readers. We also hope it will help the comments section fulfil its promise as a part of Scotland's conversation with itself.
We are lucky at The Herald. We are read by an informed, educated readership who can add their knowledge and insights to our stories.
That is invaluable.
We are making the subscriber-only change to support our valued readers, who tell us they don't want the site cluttered up with irrelevant comments, untruths and abuse.
In the past, the journalist’s job was to collect and distribute information to the audience. Technology means that readers can shape a discussion. We look forward to hearing from you on heraldscotland.com
Comments & Moderation
Readers’ comments: You are personally liable for the content of any comments you upload to this website, so please act responsibly. We do not pre-moderate or monitor readers’ comments appearing on our websites, but we do post-moderate in response to complaints we receive or otherwise when a potential problem comes to our attention. You can make a complaint by using the ‘report this post’ link . We may then apply our discretion under the user terms to amend or delete comments.
Post moderation is undertaken full-time 9am-6pm on weekdays, and on a part-time basis outwith those hours.
Read the rules hereComments are closed on this article