ANTHONY CROLLA'S trainer Joe Gallagher has thrown down the gauntlet to Ricky Burns to face his man in an all-British barn burner this summer.

The Mancunian is the current WBO Inter-Continental lightweight title holder and is rated at No.6 by the sanctioning organisation.

Raymundo Beltran and Roman Martinez - former opponents of Burns - meet on April 12 in what is an unofficial eliminator for a crack at new WBO lightweight kingpin Terence Crawford, the man who has just dethroned the Scot.

The respected fight trainer reckons that the winner of a Crolla versus Burns clash could face the last man standing from these two other projected punch-ups for the Scot's old belt.

And Gallagher claims his man would not fear visiting Glasgow for a Battle of Britain bust-up.

He said: "Both myself and Anthony Crolla have the utmost respect for Ricky Burns. We have been up in Glasgow for Ricky's last three fights and it is just a fantastic fight venue.

"The atmosphere for Burns versus Crawford had the hair on the back of my neck standing up, but you know that is the type of atmosphere Anthony would relish. The bottom line is that Anthony needs to test himself against the best in the nation and that is Ricky Burns.

"Anthony is the No.2 lightweight in the country so a fight with the No.1 makes sense. I think that it is a fight that will also answer a lot of questions for both fighters."

Despite Burns' assertion after the Crawford fight that he would like to fight on for another "10 years" there were clear signs that the wear and tear accrued by three exceptionally tough successive fights have caught up.

The former champion repeatedly elected to cover up to the extent that his ability to throw meaningful leather was greatly restricted.

Similarly to the first seven rounds of Burns' fight with Jose Gonzalez, the Scot was repeatedly out of range with his shots, while, when they did land, Crawford remained completely untroubled.

The sight of the tremor that shuddered down through the valiant ex-champion's legs when he was badly hurt in the 12th and final round was also a worrying sign.

None of which was lost on the watching Gallagher.

The Manchester fight mentor said: "We totally respect Ricky, but he has had a lot of very hard fights and Crawford was another one.

"But if Ricky goes away and has a good holiday with his family then he might relish the prospect of a fight against Anthony, which would carry nowhere near the pressure of the fights he has been in as a world champion."

But Gallagher has dismissed talk of Crolla potentially facing fellow-Mancunian John Murray in an April punch-up.

The master trainer said: "John Murray is not ranked at lightweight because he's a light-welterweight, he fought a featherweight (John Simpson) and he thinks he deserves a shot at Crolla?

"Well, if he wants a shot at Crolla, do what Anthony did against Kieran Farrell, Derry Mathews did with Tommy Coyle and work from the bottom against a young up-and-comer like Scott Cardle.

"Beating a featherweight, albeit a very brave one in John Simpson, proves nothing. If Murray beats Scott Cardle, then he's back in the mix and we'll talk. But he can't just come back after two years out and think he can take on the No.2 in Britain. That isn't how it works."