RICKY BURNS refuses to rule out the prospect of a tartan tear-up with former world featherweight champion Scott Harrison.

The WBO lightweight champion will make his first defence of the title against Namibia's Paulus Moses, in front of a sell out Braehead Arena on Saturday night.

Harrison, meanwhile, is set to make his return to the ring on March 31 after over six years of inactivity – but he has already said he expects to be challenging for a world title within two fights.

So could the all-Scottish showdown take place? With both men under contract to British boxing's most powerful promoter, Frank Warren, a pre-Christmas punch-up between the duo remains a prospect – albeit a distant one.

While the champion has vowed that all his attention is on Saturday's meeting with former WBA lightweight champion Moses, he is already projected to meet another Warren stable-mate, Kevin Mitchell, in the summer.

And Burns, who has taken on all-comers in his increasingly impressive career, admits that if Warren made the Harrison fight happen, he would go into it without any apprehension.

He said: "First of all I have to say that all my attention is on Paulus Moses.

"He is a very dangerous opponent who has fought some of the best out there and has a huge right hand – and fighting in Scotland will not faze him.

"For any of other fights to happen I have to get past him. There are a few boxers who want a piece of me right now and that includes Kevin Mitchell.

"What I will say, and I repeat this will only happen if I beat Moses, is that I have never ducked anyone. If Frank Warren puts someone in the ring to face me, whoever that is, I will fight him no fear."

Burns' fight with Moses, which is being billed as 'The Homecoming' given it is the Coatbridge man's first fight on Scottish soil since he forced Ghanaian Joseph Laryea to retire after seven rounds last March, the champion was keen to talk up his respect for the Namibian challenger.

Burns said: "I would put Moses in the top three fighters I have faced in my career alongside Michael Katsidis and Roman Martinez. This is a guy who went to Japan and won the WBA belt in a points victory which is no mean feat away from home.

"Moses has only ever had one defeat and that came against Miguel Acosta who is a top level fighter of real world class.

"But I have always said that the better the opponent the better I fight and that will have to be the case once again on Saturday."

Burns also said he is determined not to suffer a similar fate to Alex Arthur, who was handed the WBO super-featherweight title outside of the ring but lost it in his first defence.

He explained: "For me, beating Michael Katsidis was every inch a world title fight but the record books show I was made full champion when Juan-Manuel Marquez relinquished the belt.

"That gives me even more motivation to make sure I don't come up short on Saturday."

The fight, which is a sell out, will be shown live on Box Nation, on Sky platform 456.