Dagenham's Kevin Mitchell has set his sights on a summer clash with WBO lightweight champion Ricky Burns at the Upton Park home of his beloved West Ham United after coming through a dangerous tuneup fight against Dominican puncher Felix Lora at the York Hall in Bethnal Green on Friday night.

27-year-old Lora [14-9-5, eight KOs] was a threat throughout the 10 round contests with his looping rights and lefts to the head. Mitchell [33-1, 24 KOs] also 27, floored Lora in the second round but failed to capitalize on the knockdown. The Essex boxer was forced to get on his bicycle for large parts of the fight and simply avoid the often wild swings of Lora while countering with points scoring left jabs. Only in the final minute of the 10th round did Mitchell plant his feet and let go with a crunching left hand that momentarily had Lora in deep trouble. Referee Richie Davies scored the bout 98-92 for Mitchell, who in a post-fight interview said:

''I knew it would be a tough. I looked at his record and realized he hasn’t been stopped by many fighters and if he has been stopped, it was by a welterweight. I could have knocked him out in the 10th but I let him off. I could have done it earlier if I wanted to but I wanted to hit nice and clean, slip shots, show my class and get the 10 rounds in. Boxing wise, it was an easy fight.''

Mitchell is ranked no.1 contender for Scotland's WBO lightweight champion Ricky Burns' title, but he has also been mentioned as a possible opponent for unbeaten ex-WBA champion Brandon Rios, who was forced to vacate his title after failing to make the weight for his recent defense against Manchester's John Murray. Although the bout went ahead, only Murray - who had successfully made the lightweight limit - could have won the title had he been victorious. Despite a brave effort, Murray was TKO'd in the eleventh round.

Rios is an aggressive, all action brawler, a fighter who is not afraid to take a punch in order to land his own bombs. Burns by contrast is a master boxer who is always prepared to go the distance, knowing full well his skills will earn him a points victory.

Technically Mitchell - an extremely skillful boxer who also possesses genuine knockout power - has the beating of both Rios and Burns, although initially he would prefer to face the Scot in a world title fight:

"I'll be a world champion in the summer, I promise you," said Mitchell. "I'll have another fight in March and we'll fight Burns in the summer. Ricky Burns is a lovely lad but I'm going to have to beat him."

Mitchell's lone loss came in 2010 when he was TKO'd in three rounds by Australian Michael Katsidis in a fight for the interim WBO lightweight title. Mitchell blames poor preparation for the defeat, but subsequently suffered a period of depression that he admits led to heavy drinking. He has since conquered his demons, and returned to the ring last summer in spectacular fashion, stopping the previously unbeaten WBC number two contender John Murray in eight sensational rounds.

Mitchell looked sharp against Lora on Friday, and if he was somewhat cautious it is understandable considering how much he could lose if he were to walk onto one of the Dominican's baseball like swings. There is talk of Mitchell having another tuneup fight on the undercard of the upcoming George Groves Kenny Anderson rematch for the British and Commonwealth super middleweight titles on March 16.

28-year-old former WBO super featherweight champion Burns [33-2-0, 9 KOs] outpointed Katsidis to win the interim lightweight belt last November, and was elevated to full WBO lightweight champion last month when the previous title holder Juan Manuel Marquez decided to move up to junior welterweight. Burns will make the first defense of his title next month when he takes on Namibian Paulos Moses at the Braehead Arena arena in Glasgow on March 10.

If he is successful, a Burns vs Mitchell matchup for the WBO lightweight title at a packed Upton Park this summer would be one of the most anticipated domestic clashes of 2012.