EDINBURGH'S former World Boxing Organisation super- featherweight champion Alex Arthur has admitted weight problems probably cost him his world title.
He has admitted he should never have tried to defend the title against Essex rival Nicky Cook – especially after he was warned against it by wife Debbie.
Speaking at his Newington home as he looked forward to a 2009 campaign at lightweight, Arthur
said he had now fully accepted he was wrong to question the judges' decision in the points defeat to Cook at the MEN Arena in Manchester in September.
He said: "The Alex Arthur who lost to Cook was a pathetic imitation of the one who beat Koba Gogaladze for the WBO interim title."
As the holder of the interim title, Arthur inherited the status of full champion when holder Joan Guzman from Dominica refused to come to Scotland to face him.
He promptly lost the title to Cook at the first opportunity and said: "I should have listened to Debbie who told me after my weight-weakened win over Steve Foster at Meadowbank in December 2007 that it hadn't been a victory but an escape.
"She told me to stop killing myself trying to make the super-featherweight limit but I foolishly ignored her – in fact, that's why she absented herself from the ringside in Manchester against Cook in protest.
"She was absolutely right – my brain and body were totally out of sync and people who said post-fight that the real Alex Arthur didn't turn up were right."
Debbie Arthur added: "I told Alex after the Foster fight that what he had achieved was not a real victory – even though he came away with the decision.
"I begged him to go up to lightweight immediately and, when he didn't, I refused to go to the Cook fight."
Arthur also revealed that he came within a whisker of a rematch last month with Manchester's Michael Gomez – the only fighter to stop him as a pro in 2003 at Meadowbank.
Arthur said: "I was all set to fight him at lightweight but Gomez refused because he reportedly told my promoter, Frank Warren, that I had given him such a tough time in 2003 that he wanted to be well paid to compensate for the hard fight that he expected me to give him again.
"So it didn't happen but I would have loved to have fought Gomez again – especially at my new worry-free division of lightweight."
Looking to the future, Arthur is adamant that he expects to fight four times in 2009 – culminating in a world title challenge to Miami's Nate Campbell.
He said: "One thing I have no intention of doing is starting at the bottom in the lightweight division and fighting for British and European titles.
"I've been there, done that and got the badges. I want my first fight to be either a Continental lightweight fight or a ten-rounder against a top-rated international opponent.
"Then I want another couple of fights with top opposition before a world title challenge against Campbell.
"He is 37 years of age, which makes a mockery of those who say that I'm getting on now since I'll be 31 in 2009.
"Another reason I want to challenge Campbell is that I sparred loads of rounds with him at Freddie Roach's gym when I was over in Los Angeles a couple of years back and I'm confident that I could beat him.
"Campbell is represented by Don King, with whom my manager Frank Warren has a long and successful negotiations history.
"I'm confident that, once I've won my warm up fights, Frank could make Arthur versus Campbell happen.
"I don't want to fight British fighters – I just can't get motivated against domestic British opposition so I'm determined that all my bouts in 2009 will be against internationally-renowned lightweights.
"People ask me about fighting Amir Khan but, right now, Amir and I are in the same boat – we've got to re-establish our credibility after Amir's knockout loss to Bredis Prescott and my less-than-riveting performance against Cook.
"On the other hand, if Amir bounces back quickly and he or I win a world lightweight title, then that would definitely interest me and I'd look forward to fighting him."
Arthur had planned to link up with former IBF cruiserweight champion Glenn McCrory – now a TV pundit and coach – for his new campaign at lightweight but decided against that and will have a more familiar, local face in his corner in 2009.
Arthur said: "I've decided against linking up with Glenn as previously mooted. The travelling down to Durham would have been both time consuming and disrupted my family life. Consequently, I'm planning to link up again with my former coach Terry McCormack from the Lochend club
"Apart from Gomez, I won all the other fights I had with Terry in my corner."
Arthur is also planning to offer a helping hand to a local rising star – and reckons he will benefit as well.
"I will be offering South Queensferry's British featherweight champion Paul Appleby some hard sparring before his title defence against Belfast's Martin Lindsay," said Arthur.
"Paul is so good that his sparring will also aid me for my first lightweight bout in February or March."
Although they now agree on the direction of his career in the near future, Arthur and wife Debbie still can't strike a deal on his longer-term prospects.
Debbie said: "Alex is big mates with Welsh ring legend Joe Calzaghe and he is inspired by the fact that Joe is 37 and still going strong. But I've told Alex I want him to retire in three years' time.
"I've seen, at close quarters, the struggles to make the weight and the frustrations, that are part and parcel of even a world-rated boxer like Alex's daily life, so I want him to quit when he is still ahead.
"We are comfortably off so there is not and will not be any financial pressure on him to continue beyond the age of 34."
Debbie reckons Alex has what it takes to carve out a media career but he has more immediate goals in mind. He said: "Debbie is quite definite that I will retire from boxing at 34 – which gives me just three years to achieve my definite aims of winning world titles at lightweight and light-welterweight.
"That's not impossible, which is why I just can't wait until my first fight of 2009."
