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Tonight, up and coming star of the British bantam weight scene Scott Quigg, 23-0-0 with 16 KO’s, defends his British title against the always game Jamie Arthur, 18-5-0 with 4 KO’s, with the vacant Commonwealth belt also being on offer.
Quigg won the title with an outstanding performance over veteran Jason Booth last October. Booth retired at the end of the seventh round, as he was taking a sustained beating and was starting to strain and tire underneath Quigg’s pressure.
It was a classic meeting of old vs new and it was clear that Booth was not the fighter he once was, but nevertheless, Booth had skills and is a test for any domestic bantam.
When looking at comparables, Booth happens to be Arthur’s last opponent as well. Booth and Arthur had a close fight, with Booth getting the decision and most agreed with the outcome.
Quite opposite ends of the spectrum in terms of how the fights finished.
Jamie Arthur is a tough fighter, and has been in with a good mix of the British bantam and featherweight fighters such as Akaash Bhatia, Martin Lindsay, Ricky Owen, Kris Hughes and Jason Booth.
Although the most experienced fighter there is Booth, Arthur also lost to Lindsay and Owen. Quigg is better than all of them, as he destroyed Booth, who out pointed Arthur.
Arthur has a 17% KO ratio, compared to Quigg’s 70%, and he really does not carry any power in his hands. And of his five losses, two of them were stoppages.
Arthur will be gutsy and come to fight, perhaps more spurred on by the fact that he is fighting for the British title which has slipped out of his grasp twice now, but at 32, how much has he got left?
But that’s just it; Arthur has always been on that level below title contention, apart from when he won the Commonwealth title off of Kris Hughes in a very close fight, before losing it immediately to Jason Booth.
Arthur does have some amateur background; he picked up Gold at the 2002 Commonwealth games in Manchester, at lightweight.
Quigg, for a prospect, looks very much the part already. As mentioned he can bang, and it’s not just that he carries power, he really puts a lot into his shots. Quigg has a good chin and nifty defence and to date, has never really been troubled or wobbled.
His career has been simmering along nicely and he has been blowing away everyone his management have lined up in front of him.
The IBF have Quigg ranked at number three in the world ratings as he has defended his WBA inter-continental belt three times now against stern opposition and has shined every time he has performed.
The writing is on the wall for Arthur. He is going to try and outbox Quigg but he doesn’t really have the ability, and he can’t outgun him.
Arthur’s best bet would be to try and counter punch Quigg as the champion comes inside but the bottom line is that Quigg will be to powerful and will tear Arthur apart.
Arthur has seen the final bell three times in his pro-career, Quigg only the once. But I doubt it goes that far, Quigg should have Arthur out of there before the sixth.
