Boxing: Arthur Burns bridges with push for title

CAPITAL boxing ace Alex Arthur has poured scorn on the on the idea that he should revert back to super-featherweight to challenge Scotland's new world champion Ricky Burns.

Arthur previously held the WBO super-featherweight title which Burns, from Coatbridge won with a superb points victory over Puerto Rican Roman Martinez at the Kelvin Hall at the weekend.

And it was immediately suggested that an all-Scottish showdown for the title between Burns and Arthur or Burns and South Queensferry's Paul Appleby would appeal to promoter Frank Warren.

Both Arthur and former British featherweight champion Appleby won their bouts on the Kelvin Hall undercard. with Appleby overpowering Bulgarian Yordan Vasilev in just two rounds. But Arthur now fights at lightweight after struggling to make the 9st 4lb limit.

He commented: "This talk is nonsense.

"The only way that I would be able to challenge Burns - no matter what the money involved would be - would be for someone to amputate one of my legs to make the weight.

"What the guys who have raised this idea don't seem to realise is that there is no way that I would be willing to put myself through the weight reducing torture that I went through before losing the WBO title to Nicky Cook.

"That is exactly what I would have to do to fight Burns. So good luck to Ricky Burns, he fought a great fight to beat Martinez and take the title. I hope that he has a long reign as champion - he deserves it - but he won't have to worry about me challenging him. A weight-weakened Alex Arthur challenging Burns would benefit only one person - and it wouldn't be me!''

Likewise, weight issues could scupper any hope of a title clash between Appleby and Burns, even though Appleby is currently fighting at super-featherweight. He will this week consult Scottish Institute of Sport fitness guru Nikos Jackubiak, who also advised Arthur.

Appleby said: "I've had second thoughts about challenging Burns or even staying at superfeatherweight.

"Alex Arthur has arranged for me to consult Nikos Jakubiak about returning to and remaining at featherweight. Quite honestly, I fancy regaining the British featherweight title that I lost to Ulsterman Martin Lindsay in Belfast.

"If Nikos decides that I can safely reach the featherweight limit and maintain that, then that's the way I want to go rather than challenge Burns for his WBO title."