ALEX Arthur, sidelined by injury as his nemesis Michael Gomez takes centre stage at Bellahouston tonight against Ricky Burns, is nevertheless "buzzing" as he prepares to make some serious inroads into the lightweight division this year.
While Gomez, who stopped Arthur in five explosive rounds at Meadowbank in October 2003 to take his British title, bids for the Commonwealth super-featherweight title, the 30-year-old Edinburgh fighter has been forced to shelve his comeback plans
, and his lightweight debut, by taking a two-week break from training after damaging nerves at the base of his spine in training.
However, with the trials and tribulations of the weight issues at super-featherweight now over, Arthur is looking forward to making dents in the armoury of the lightweight division's big hitters. Names such as Juan Manuel Marquez, Juan Diaz and possibly even Amir Khan will hopefully ensure a swift return to the top of the boxing tree sooner rather than later.
And with his old trainer Terry McCormack back in his corner, he wants to be active in 2009. "I would love to fight four times this year. I'm really not interested in small shows anymore or going after belts that I've already won. I want the big fights.
"Being at lightweight now gives me such a buzz because of the level of competition and I haven't got that horrendous worry of struggling with making the weight at super-feather."
For almost two years prior to his recent WBO super-featherweight loss to Nicky Cook, there had been calls for Arthur to make the step up from super-featherweight to lightweight a lot sooner than now.
He conceded the point, saying: "It was all gradually diminishing when I fought Stephen Foster in 2007. The problem wasn't just physically but also psychologically and scientifically. I was losing muscle as well as my desire, aggression and anything that it took to make me a world champion."
It's obvious that he is now very comfortable and very happy at the prospect of fighting in one of boxing's hottest divisions. He is back in training and hopes it's not too long before he returns to competitive action.
Even before suffering the first defeat of his career to Gomez, Arthur was suffering with weight issues as well as a few distractions. "I had just bought a house, a new Mercedes, I had money in the bank and I was too relaxed," he said. "I thought I would just go in and knock him out."
But there was more to it. A thyroid gland had caused problems, with Arthur's swallowing and this forced him to live on iced water during the week leading up to the fight. However with his father selling 1,500 tickets and with Edinburgh buzzing about the fight, Arthur did not want to let anyone down.
Incredibly, despite eating nothing for a week, he was seven-and-a-half pounds over the limit on the morning of the weigh-in. The night of the fight saw Arthur throw caution to the wind and go toe-to-toe with one of the game's toughest characters, but the fifth round saw Arthur on his backside and the fight was over.
But he then picked himself up, dusted himself off and not only recaptured the British title against Glasgow's Craig Docherty, but also added the vacant Commonwealth title with a ninth-round KO.
The one moment of Alex's professional career that he is very proud of is when he won the European title against the rugged Russian, Boris Sinitsin. "That night everything came together for me. I was on the weight, I was lean, and despite getting cuts to both eyes after he butted me twice I came through and won the title."
So despite a stop-start career, Arthur is ready to go again.
