Scottish boxing fans could be treated to the sight of ring superstar Marco Antonio Barrera before the end of the year if Alex Arthur beats Nicky Cook at Manchester's MEN Arena tonight, according to promoter Frank Warren.
Arthur, 30, moved up from interim WBO super-featherweight champion to full champion when Joan Guzman moved up to lightweight but hopes to end any question marks about his status this evening by beating the Englishman in front of his fellow countrymen
.
The Edinburgh boxer would be looking for his next fight to be back in Scotland and Warren threw up the prospect of a meeting with Barrera, the Mexican boxing legend, who is a four-time world champion at three different weights.
Warren said: "If Alex does win this fight, I am going to do my best to bring Barrera over and I will try and bring it to Scotland. So he has some big opportunities there if he comes through."
Warren insists Arthur still has a long and successful career ahead of him despite turning 30 but he believes Arthur's only defeat – to Michael Gomez in 2003 – was the "best thing" that could have happened to the Edinburgh man.
He continued: "The best thing that happened to Alex was when he got beat by Gomez. That was a big learning curve for him.
"It made him rethink about what he had to do and it stood him in good stead. He didn't turn world champion until he was 29 but there is no disgrace in that.
"He still has a lot of boxing left in him but he has a tough job on Saturday.
"Nicky is no pushover and Alex can't afford to be complacent, as he was against Stephen Foster Junior in his last fight.
"He was very complacent and he was also complacent against Michael Gomez. He should have won that fight but he was playing up to the crowd.
"But training has gone well for this fight and he is very focused."
Arthur, who weighed in at exactly nine stone, four pounds – half a pound heavier than the challenger – insists there was no problem making the weight.
He told PA Sport: "I made the weight easy this time. I can go and get some good food and relax and get ready to rumble tonight."
The full article contains 393 words and appears in The Scotsman newspaper.
