Arthur fight claim is branded 'nonsense'

Published on Monday 21 January 2008 21:32

PROMOTER Frank Warren dismissed as "nonsense" Alex Arthur's claim yesterday that the outcome of purse bids to stage his world title fight with WBO super-featherweight champion Joan Guzman is imminent.

Arthur, the 29-year-old interim champion from Edinburgh, said he was expecting to hear by last night whether Warren had been successful in winning the right to stage the proposed world championship bout in Scotland.

But Warren expressed amazement at the claim, adding: "That is complete rubbish. Nothing is happening meantime."

However, according to Arthur, while Warren has pledged to make the fight for Scotland the contest will not take place in the capital due to the lack of a suitable venue.

Arthur said: "The last time a world title show was staged at Ingliston, in 2005, loads of fans complained about not being able to see the ring properly, so almost certainly it will go ahead in Glasgow."

It is a measure of the esteem in which Guzman is held by Arthur that the challenger confessed to fearing that the undefeated Dominican Republic man may be too good for him.

Arthur, who is rarely lacking in confidence, added: "He is the first and only opponent who has made me think beforehand that there is a chance he might even beat me.

"I have now watched Guzman in action on video and he would be my toughest ever opponent. Guzman is a class act and I'd have my work cut-out.

"So victory would be no foregone conclusion, but I would still give it my best shot."

Arthur has lost only once in 27 fights, to Michael Gomez in October 2003, when the Irishman recorded a fifth-round stoppage at Meadowbank.

It had previously been anticipated that Guzman would relinquish the WBO title rather than make a mandatory defence against the Scot so he could cash-in with a big-money fight against the likes of Manny Pacquiao or Manuel Marquez.