Alex Arthur
Encyclopedia
Alex Arthur, nicknamed "Amazing" Alex Arthur, (born 26 June 1978) is a professional boxer
from Edinburgh
in Scotland
.
Arthur is a former British, Commonwealth
, European Boxing Union (EBU)
and WBO super featherweight
champion. He is trained by Austin Handren.
forum in Manchester. Also on the card that day were fighters of the quality of Anthony Farnell
, Junior Witter
, Matthew Hatton
, Michael Jennings
and Jamie Moore
.
After winning 11 fights in a row and picking up a couple of fringe titles on the way, Arthur managed to get a crack at the vacant British Super Featherweight title when he challenged Dewsbury's Steve Conway
at the Braehead Arena
in Glasgow
. The win established Arthur as a force on the domestic scene and he followed up the victory with two defences against Carl Greaves and fellow Scot Willie Limond
. One more victory would have given him the Lonsdale belt for keeps and that was when the undefeated prospect with a record of 16-0 ran into Manchester's 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.
A war of words was waged between the two fighters prior to the fight, Arthur had stirred up the animosity 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.".
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 as a stepping stone against a Gomez how had been through too many battles and abused his body too much.
Gomez proved his critics wrong when on the night of the fight Gomez arrived in prime condition and with aggression, determination and desire. Eventually, Gomez won this bad tempered contested fight with an explosive knock out of Arthur in the fifth round. Arthur's performance in the early rounds and his resilience before the KO saw the bout hailed as one of the 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".
Inter-Continental super featherweight title. He made two defences of that fringe title before lining himself up for a shot at Commonwealth Super-Featherweight champion Craig Docherty
. To make matters more interesting the British title was now vacant again meaning that the Docherty fight would be for the British and Commonwealth Super-Featherweight titles. The fight took place at the Meadowbank Sports Centre in Edinburgh and ended with Arthur knocking Docherty out in the 9th round. Arthur was once again a force to be reckoned with.
winning another 12 round decision. It was however the only time he would defend all three at once, his next two fights saw him only defend the European title against mandatory challenger Sergey Gulyakevich
and Spain's Sergio Palomo.
in the tenth round to win the interim WBO super-featherweight title recognised as one of the 4 main 'World' belts. He made his first defence on 15 December 2007 against fellow Brit 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 managed to regain his composure and won a close decision.
Following the Foster win Arthur geared himself up to take on Dominican Joan Guzmán
who held the full version of the title. However, Guzmán decided that he wanted to move up a weight division and chose not to compete against Arthur. This decision by Guzmán meant that the interim titleholder was now recognized as the organization's world champion.
Arthur however surrendered the title in his very next fight, losing a unanimous points decision to England's Nicky Cook
at the MEN Arena
in Manchester
on 9 September 2008. Arthur claimed that he had been "robbed" he also added "It was three English judges - in England. A fighter knows in his heart if he has won or lost a fight and I really thought I had won", Other observers however thought that the decision was fair and that Cook fully deserved his win. .
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Professional Boxing
Professional boxing, or prizefighting, emerged in the early twentieth century as boxing gradually attained legitimacy and became a regulated, sanctioned sport. Professional boxing bouts are fought for a purse which is divided among the fighters and promoters as determined by contract...
from Edinburgh
Edinburgh
Edinburgh is the capital city of Scotland, the second largest city in Scotland, and the eighth most populous in the United Kingdom. The City of Edinburgh Council governs one of Scotland's 32 local government council areas. The council area includes urban Edinburgh and a rural area...
in Scotland
Scotland
Scotland is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Occupying the northern third of the island of Great Britain, it shares a border with England to the south and is bounded by the North Sea to the east, the Atlantic Ocean to the north and west, and the North Channel and Irish Sea to the...
.
Arthur is a former British, Commonwealth
Commonwealth
Commonwealth is a traditional English term for a political community founded for the common good. Historically, it has sometimes been synonymous with "republic."More recently it has been used for fraternal associations of some sovereign nations...
, European Boxing Union (EBU)
European Boxing Union
The European Boxing Union is an organization that oversees competition in that sport over the continent of Europe.-History:The EBU started life as the International Boxing Union in Paris in 1910...
and WBO super featherweight
Super Featherweight
Super featherweight is a weight division in professional boxing. The maximum weight for this division is 130 pounds or 59 kilograms....
champion. He is trained by Austin Handren.
Early Professional Career
Arthur had his first professional contest in November 2000 when he defeated fellow debutant Richmond Asante at the WythenshaweWythenshawe
Wythenshawe is a district in the south of the city of Manchester, England.Formerly part of the administrative county of Cheshire, in 1931 Wythenshawe was transferred to the City of Manchester, which had begun building a massive housing estate there in the 1920s to resolve the problem of its inner...
forum in Manchester. Also on the card that day were fighters of the quality of Anthony Farnell
Anthony Farnell
Anthony Farnell , known as the Woodhouse Warrior, was born in Manchester and grew up in Failsworth, Greater Manchester. He is a former WBU middleweight champion...
, Junior Witter
Junior Witter
Junior Witter is a professional boxer from Bradford, West Yorkshire, England. He is the former WBC, European, British, and Commonwealth light welterweight champion.-Early professional career:...
, Matthew Hatton
Matthew Hatton
Matthew James Hatton , is a professional boxer, using the nickname "Magic". He is a welterweight, and is a former Commonwealth and World title challenger and the current European Champion....
, Michael Jennings
Michael Jennings
Michael Jennings is a professional boxer. He fights as a welterweight, and is a former British champion and World title challenger at the weight.-Professional career:...
and Jamie Moore
Jamie Moore
Jamie Moore may refer to:* Jamie Moore * Jamie Moore * Jamie Moore , Grammy Award-winner, Gospel song writer-See also:*Jaime Moore, British trampolinist*James Moore...
.
After winning 11 fights in a row and picking up a couple of fringe titles on the way, Arthur managed to get a crack at the vacant British Super Featherweight title when he challenged Dewsbury's Steve Conway
Steve Conway
Steve Conway is an Irish broadcaster and writer, formerly of the offshore pirate station Radio Caroline and most recently a presenter on the Dublin indie rock station Phantom 105.2....
at the Braehead Arena
Braehead Arena
The Braehead Arena is a multi-purpose arena in Renfrewshire, Scotland, in the western part of the Glasgow conurbation. The arena was built in 1999, and is located within the Braehead Complex....
in Glasgow
Glasgow
Glasgow is the largest city in Scotland and third most populous in the United Kingdom. The city is situated on the River Clyde in the country's west central lowlands...
. The win established Arthur as a force on the domestic scene and he followed up the victory with two defences against Carl Greaves and fellow Scot Willie Limond
Willie Limond
Willie Limond is a Glasgow-born professional boxer. He is the current WBU lightweight champion, former IBO Inter-Continental champion, and the former Commonwealth lightweight Champion.-Early career:...
. One more victory would have given him the Lonsdale belt for keeps and that was when the undefeated prospect with a record of 16-0 ran into Manchester's Michael Gomez
Michael Gomez
Michael Gomez , also known as "The Irish Mexican" or "The Predator", is a former professional boxer...
.
Michael Gomez fight
Michael GomezMichael Gomez
Michael Gomez , also known as "The Irish Mexican" or "The Predator", is a former professional boxer...
fought Arthur for the British and WBA
World Boxing Association
The World Boxing Association is a boxing organization that sanctions official matches, and awards the WBA world championship title at the professional level. It was previously known as the National Boxing Association before changing its name in 1962...
International super featherweight titles in front of a sold out Meadowbank Stadium
Meadowbank Stadium
Meadowbank Stadium is a multi-purpose sports facility located at Meadowbank, in Edinburgh, Scotland. It hosted the Commonwealth Games of 1970 and 1986.-Layout:...
, Edinburgh, Scotland
Scotland
Scotland is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Occupying the northern third of the island of Great Britain, it shares a border with England to the south and is bounded by the North Sea to the east, the Atlantic Ocean to the north and west, and the North Channel and Irish Sea to the...
in October 2003. This was the first professional boxing card in the city for almost 20 years.
A war of words was waged between the two fighters prior to the fight, Arthur had stirred up the animosity 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.".
Arthur, who was looking to retain the Lonsdale Belt
Lonsdale belt
The Lonsdale Belt was a boxing prize introduced by Hugh Lowther, 5th Earl of Lonsdale, to be awarded to British boxing champions. It is still awarded to British champions today.-National Sporting Club:...
, 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 as a stepping stone against a Gomez how had been through too many battles and abused his body too much.
Gomez proved his critics wrong when on the night of the fight Gomez arrived in prime condition and with aggression, determination and desire. Eventually, Gomez won this bad tempered contested fight with an explosive knock out of Arthur in the fifth round. Arthur's performance in the early rounds and his resilience before the KO saw the bout hailed as one of the best fights in Britain for a decade. Boxing promoter Frank Warren
Frank Warren (promoter)
Frank Darren Warren is an English boxing manager and promoter.-Early life and early career:The son of a bookmaker, Warren trained as a solicitor's clerk with J Tickle & Co on Southampton Row in London....
called the fight "the greatest contest seen on these shores since Nigel Benn beat Gerald McClellan in 1995".
Comeback
He made his comeback the next year on 27 March 2004 by stopping Michael Kizza in the first round for the IBFIBF
IBF may refer to:*International Boxing Federation is one of several boxing organisations* International Bandy Federation former name of Federation of International Bandy , an international governing body for bandy...
Inter-Continental super featherweight title. He made two defences of that fringe title before lining himself up for a shot at Commonwealth Super-Featherweight champion Craig Docherty
Craig Docherty
Craig Docherty is a Scottish professional boxer, best known for having held the Commonwealth Super-Featherweight championship and being one-half of the biggest Scottish fight since Jim Watt-Ken Buchanan....
. To make matters more interesting the British title was now vacant again meaning that the Docherty fight would be for the British and Commonwealth Super-Featherweight titles. The fight took place at the Meadowbank Sports Centre in Edinburgh and ended with Arthur knocking Docherty out in the 9th round. Arthur was once again a force to be reckoned with.
European Champion
In order to fully seal his comeback Arthur's next fight was against the reigning European champion at super feather Boris Sinitsin. He managed to defeat the experienced Russian with a wide 12 round decision and so held the British, Commonwealth and European title belts at the same time. He put all three of them on the line in his next fight against fellow Scot Ricky BurnsRicky Burns
Ricky Burns is a boxer from Coatbridge in Scotland who fights in the lightweight division and is currently the WBO interim lightweight champion of the world becoming only the 13th Scottish boxing world champion. He is also a former WBO Super-Featherweight champion, Commonwealth super featherweight...
winning another 12 round decision. It was however the only time he would defend all three at once, his next two fights saw him only defend the European title against mandatory challenger Sergey Gulyakevich
Sergey Gulyakevich
Sergey Gulyakevich is a Belarusian professional boxer who competes in the super featherweight division. He is a former European champion for the weight division and world title challenger.-Professional career:...
and Spain's Sergio Palomo.
WBO Champion
On 21 July 2007 he stopped Koba GogoladzeKoba Gogoladze
Koba Gogoladze is a professional boxer from Georgia. He competed in the 1996 Summer Olympics as a lightweight, losing on points in the quarterfinals to Leonard Doroftei.-Olympic career:...
in the tenth round to win the interim WBO super-featherweight title recognised as one of the 4 main 'World' belts. He made his first defence on 15 December 2007 against fellow Brit Steve Foster Jr
Stephen Foster (boxer)
Stephen Foster is an English professional boxer fighting in the super featherweight division. He is the former European super featherweight champion and is a former holder of the English and WBU titles at featherweight....
. 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 managed to regain his composure and won a close decision.
Following the Foster win Arthur geared himself up to take on Dominican Joan Guzmán
Joan Guzman
Joan Guzmán is a Dominican professional boxer who was the WBO's super bantamweight and super featherweight champion. His nickname is "The Little Tyson"." Guzmán is now trained by Former World Champion Roberto Garcia. Former unheralded boxer Floyd Mayweather, Sr...
who held the full version of the title. However, Guzmán decided that he wanted to move up a weight division and chose not to compete against Arthur. This decision by Guzmán meant that the interim titleholder was now recognized as the organization's world champion.
Arthur however surrendered the title in his very next fight, losing a unanimous points decision to England's Nicky Cook
Nicky Cook
Nicky Cook is an English professional boxer who fights at featherweight he is the former British, Commonwealth, European featherweight and WBO super featherweight champion.-Early professional career:...
at the MEN Arena
Manchester Evening News Arena
The Manchester Evening News Arena is an indoor arena situated in Manchester, England. It is adjacent to Manchester Victoria station near Corporation Street...
in Manchester
Manchester
Manchester is a city and metropolitan borough in Greater Manchester, England. According to the Office for National Statistics, the 2010 mid-year population estimate for Manchester was 498,800. Manchester lies within one of the UK's largest metropolitan areas, the metropolitan county of Greater...
on 9 September 2008. Arthur claimed that he had been "robbed" he also added "It was three English judges - in England. A fighter knows in his heart if he has won or lost a fight and I really thought I had won", Other observers however thought that the decision was fair and that Cook fully deserved his win. .
External links
- Alex Arthur Official Website
- British Boxing
- Interview with Arthur STV interview, 18 June 2007.
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