Five opponents for Ricky Burns after WBA super-lightweight defence

After Ricky Burns successfully defended his WBA super-lightweight title, we pick out five possible opponents for the Scotsman's next fight.

The Coatbridge man retained his belt with a win over Kiryl Relikh at the SSE Hydro in Glasgow and speculation has already started about big-name bouts for Burns in the future.

A lucrative battle with Adrien Broner, the controversial American, is top of the shortlist which has been drawn up by promoter Eddie Hearn, but the WBA champion is not short of options...

Terence Crawford

Crawford did not carry a big reputation when he arrived to challenge Burns in 2014, but quickly left Scotland with the WBO lightweight and has greatly enhanced his status since then.

Dominant wins over Yuriorkis Gamboa and Viktor Postol has underlined Crawford's class and he now holds the WBC and WBO super-lightweight belts in the same division as Burns. 

Burns would start as an underdog against Crawford, who has been touted as a future pound-for-pound No 1, but the 'Rickster' has admitted he is still keen to avenge his past defeat.

Lucas Matthysse

Although Matthysse has not fought since a stoppage defeat to Postol for the WBC super-lightweight title back in March, he is earmarked to make a ring return at the start of 2017. 

He remains one of the division's standout names and Burns would surely relish the opportunity to fight the Argentinian slugger.

Matthysse holds impressive victories over the likes of Humberto Soto, Lamont Peterson and Ruslan Provodnikov, although it is still unclear at what weight he is going to make his much-anticipated return. 

Dejan Zlaticanin

A rematch with Zlaticanin could also be of interest to Burns after his surprise defeat to the Montenegrin, just a few months after the Crawford setback.

Burns was floored in the first round by Zlaticanin, who is now regarded as a world champion after winning the vacant WBC lightweight title.

It remains to be seen whether Burns would step back down to lightweight, but Zlaticanin has been granted a voluntary defence, possibly opening the door for a return bout.

Mikey Garcia

The return of Garcia to the ring back in July was a pleasing sight for all boxing fans and he remains a marquee name in the sport, despite a two and a half year layoff. 

The former featherweight and super-featherweight world champion returned with a fifth round stoppage over Elio Rojas and afterwards set his sights on the lightweight division.

A fight with Burns would again depend on whether the Scot would be willing to step down in weight or if in fact Garcia would fancy moving up.

The prospect of another trip Stateside may be enough to tempt Burns though who has openly admitted his desire to once again fight across the pond.

Eduard Troyanovsky

Troyanosvky may not be the most famous name to British fans, but the 36-year-old is the current IBF and IBO super-lightweight world champion.

'The Eagle' has 25 wins from as many fights and has spent much of his career fighting in his homeland of Russia. If a unification bout is what Burns craves then a lucrative offer to Troyanovsky may be enough to tempt the big Russian into a fight.

Two back-to-back stoppage victories over the fairly unknown Argentinian Cesar Rene Cuenca, previously 48-0,  to win and retain the belts have been the Russian's defining moments to date.