Alex Arthur
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| Alex Arthur | |
| Statistics | |
|---|---|
| Real name | Alex Arthur |
| Nickname(s) | Amazing |
| Rated at | super featherweight |
| Height | 5 ft. 9 in. (175 cm.) |
| Nationality |  British |
| Birth date | June 26, 1978 |
| Birth place | Edinburgh, Scotland, UK |
| Stance | Orthodox |
| Boxing record | |
| Total fights | 26 |
| Wins | 25 |
| Wins by KO | 19 |
| Losses | 1 |
| Draws | 0 |
| No contests | 0 |
Alex Arthur, nicknamed "Amazing" Alex Arthur, (born 26 June 1978 in Edinburgh) is a professional boxer from Edinburgh, Scotland.
Arthur is the British, Commonwealth, European (EBU) and WBO super featherweight champion.[1] He is trained by Austin Handren.
Contents |
[edit] Michael Gomez fight
Michael Gomez fought Arthur for the British and WBA International super featherweight titles in front of a sold out Meadowbank Stadium, Edinburgh, Scotland in October 2003. This was the first professional boxing card in the city for almost 20 years.[2]
A war of words was waged between the two fighters prior to the fight, Arthur had stirred up the anomousity between the pair stating in an interview that Gomez "gets involved in wars with journeymen" and that "looking deep into Gomez’s eyes at the press conference, I’m not sure even he believes he can win. He’ll be so fired up I expect it’ll take me eight or nine rounds but, if his resistance has gone as people are saying, it could be a lot sooner" and "I see about 20 ways to beat him. I'm just looking forward to shutting him up.".[3][4]
Arthur, who was looking to retain the Lonsdale Belt, was seen as a rising star in British boxing and was being groomed to be a future world champion. Arthur was a strong favourite to defeat Gomez and this fight was seen a as stepping stone against a Gomez how had been through too many battles and abused his body too much.[5][6][7]
Gomez proved his critics wrong when on the night of the fight Gomez arrived in prime condition and with aggression, determination and desire.[8][9] Eventually, Gomez won this bad tempered contested fight with an explosive knock out of Arthur in the fifth round.[10] Arthur's performance in the early rounds and his resiliancy before the KO saw the bout hailed as one of the best best fights in Britain for a decade. Boxing promoter Frank Warren called the fight "the greatest contest seen on these shores since Nigel Benn beat Gerald McClellan in 1995".[11]
[edit] Comeback
He made his comeback the next year on March 27 by stopping Michael Kizza in the first round for the IBF Inter-Continental super featherweight title. On July 21 2007 he stopped Koba Gogoladze in the tenth round to win the interim WBO strap. He made his first defence on December 15 2007 against Steve Foster Jr. In what was supposed to be an easy tune up fight, Arthur struggled to win a close unanimous decision. It was a terrible start from the champion, for the first four rounds he was getting beaten to the punch and taking heavy blows from foster. He regained his composure in the middle rounds and even knocked down his opponent in the 9th with a body shot. However two rounds later in round 11 Arthur got floored himself after taking a right hand that knocked him straight through the ropes. He regained his composure and won a close decision.
[edit] Other information
Arthur is a Hibernian supporter and expressed the desire to contest for a world title at Hibernian's home ground, Easter Road in Edinburgh.
[edit] See also
[edit] References
- ^ Boxrec profile boxrec.com
- ^ "AMAZING ALL-ROUND". Boxing Monthly. Retrieved on 13 June 2007.
- ^ "AMAZING ALL-ROUND". Boxing Monthly. Retrieved on 13 June 2007.
- ^ "Arthur shrugs off trainer blow". BBC. Retrieved on 13 June 2007.
- ^ "Star Profiles - Alex Arthur". ITV. Retrieved on 13 June 2007.
- ^ Julian Wilson. "Boxer of the week - Michael Gomez". Britishboxing.net. Retrieved on 13 June 2007.
- ^ Elliot Worsell. "Britain's most exciting fighters". SecondsOut.com. Retrieved on 13 June 2007.
- ^ Julian Wilson. "Boxer of the week - Michael Gomez". Britishboxing.net. Retrieved on 13 June 2007.
- ^ Stephen Jones. "Amazing Fighters, Amazing Fight". Braggingrightscorner.com. Retrieved on 13 June 2007.
- ^ BoxingTalk
- ^ K MacInnes. "This England". New Statesman. Retrieved on 13 June 2007.
