RICKY BURNS faces a trip into the unknown next week when he defends his WBO lightweight title against Philipino slugger Jose Ocampo.

The Scot will go into the fight at the London ExCel on Saturday week with little fight intelligence on his rival.

Burns' camp has scoured the globe for DVD or tape footage of Ocampo and have only managed to come up with some grainy film that spans just a few rounds of action.

But trainer Billy Nelson remains convinced the 14th-ranked challenger will have some powerful ammo in his arsenal.

He said: "It has been tremendously hard to find good quality video of Ocampo in action. Fortunately, I have a very good source down south who has been an exceptional help over the years and he uncovered tape of Ocampo fighting in Thailand at the end of last year when he stopped Thai Tor Silachai in six rounds.

"And you can see from that film that Ocampo has a dangerous straight left and he's a banger who will come to have ago, which is not surprising given his nickname is 'The Bomber' and he has taken out 12 of his 17 victims early.

"So Ocampo has been about and does have pedigree and, with a ranking of number 14, he is a genuine threat. But, while he will be afforded every respect, we are confident that Ricky will take him."

Ocampo is a late replacement for Commonwealth champion Liam Walsh, who was forced to withdraw after being injured in a car crash three weeks ago. All of which has made the preparation for Saturday week uniquely challenging for Nelson and his star prodigy.

Burns is bidding to end the year on a high and rubber-stamp a possible unification fight with newly-crowned WBC champion Adrien Broner.

Nelson added: "It is never easy when you are preparing to meet one fighter with a certain style and then when you are well down the line that fight is called off.

"Then we had a couple of weeks when we weren't sure who was going to be the replacement and that is a tough thing for the fighter to deal with.

"But the positive for Ricky was when we got Ocampo's name through as the new challenger I could see the spring in Ricky's step was back.

"With just nine days to go until the fight, I am really pleased with the shape Ricky is in and, as always with someone as professional as he is, doing the weight will not be an issue with him.

"There may be big things in store for Ricky in 2013, but they will only come about if he takes care of Ocampo. I have no doubt he is in the shape to do that in impressive fashion."