Arthur joy at WBO decision
by Mark Doyle, 15 May 2008
Alex Arthur has told Setanta Sports News of his joy at being crowned WBO super-featherweight champion.
The 29-year-old Scot was awarded the title on Thursday after Joan Guzman, whom he was supposed to fight on May 3, vacated the belt to facilitate a move up to lightweight.
Arthur remains disappointed that he did not get the opportunity to win the title in the ring, but he is thrilled nonetheless.
”I’m obviously over the moon, delighted. It was a long drawn-out process. I prepared diligently and meticulously for about three months for the Guzman fight,” he told Setanta Sports News.
”I’ve really not had much time off since my last contest [against Stephen Foster on December 15]. We started work very early.
”I’ve been out to America and spent a lot of money preparing for the fight. It was gut-wrenching at times but I knew that God had a bigger plan for me and now I’m delighted at being made champion.”
And Arthur is in no doubt that he would have beaten the undefeated Guzman had he been given the chance.
”I think they [Team Guzman] were going to make a big mistake coming over here to take me on. But that’s boxing,” he mused.
”I’m fully aware that Guzman is in many people’s pound-for-pound lists but I’ve believed for a long time that that’s where I belong.
”I was delighted about the prospect of fighting him but things happen for a reason and it’s just a case of onwards and upwards now. I’m just looking to the future.”
Arthur was hoping to set up a bout with his compatriot, Scott Harrison, in the not-too-distant future but that now looks highly unlikely, given that the troubled featherweight was refused a boxing license earlier this week.
”The reason I really wanted it to happen was for the Scottish fans, first and foremost,” Arthur said of the proposed bout with Harrison, who was hoping to be given the all-clear to return to the ring after battling a number of personal problems.
”We’re two of the best fighters that this country has produced in the past 30 years and we’ve come along at the same time and we happened to be very close to each other in terms of weight. So it was always a possibility.
”And Scott Harrison would have been a totally different prospect altogether. He’s a really good friend of mine and a fantastic fighter, and I would have just loved to see him back in a ring again. It would have been great to see him rebuild his life.”