A row has broken out in the Ricky Burns camp ahead of his WBO super-featherweight title defence against Joseph Laryea at the Braehead Arena on Saturday night.

According to the Coatbridge champion's trainer, Billy Nelson, if Burns beats Laryea he will be two fights away from proving himself better than Scottish ring legends Benny Lynch, Ken Buchanan and Jim Watt.

Burns admitted earlier that he was "embarrassed" by such praise and tonight his manager, Alex Morrison, issued a statement distancing himself from Nelson's assertion and told the trainer to let the fighter do his talking in the ring.

"I, Alex Morrison, manager of WBO super-featherweight champion Ricky Burns, wish to disassociate myself from recent comments in the media by Ricky's trainer, Billy Nelson, in which he claimed Ricky is two fights away from becoming Scotland's best-ever boxer," said Morrison.

"Ricky will be happy that he is being compared to former champions like Jim Watt, Ken Buchanan and Scott Harrison but will be very unhappy that anyone working closely with him has said he is, or even close to becoming, Scotland's best ever-boxer.

"Ricky has a lot to live up to and I am sure he will do so.

"However, he does not need pressure like this put upon him.

"My ambition for Ricky is that he leaves the ring like Jim Watt did, with his health, money, popularity and looks intact. Billy Nelson has done a terrific job with Ricky and has improved him to different levels.

"But he should remember that is where his role ends and let Ricky do his talking in the ring."

Nelson said this week: "If we beat Laryea then Ricky will have a unification fight.

"If he wins that - and the Ring Magazine belt that goes with it - then he will have eclipsed anything any other Scottish boxer has achieved."