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Amazing Alex ready for Barrera now
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http://www.itv-boxing.com/News/Story...663086,00.html
Amazing Alex ready for Barrera nowITV boxing pundit Barry McGuigan chats exclusively to Derek Bilton about Alex Arthur's successful European title defence against Sergio Palomo in Glasgow.
ITV: Palomo may have been several furlongs short of world class but Alex's technique again looked as tight as a drum and he rarely wasted a punch.
BM: I agree that Palomo was not world class but to be fair he was unbeaten coming in (with 10 stoppage wins), was ambitious and certainly came to fight. To his credit he didn't run from Arthur and he had a go. That said I though Arthur was particularly good. He picked his punches well and looked very strong as he's done throughout his career. He had that one lapse against Michael Gomez a few years ago but seems to have come through all the better for it and is now a very accomplished box-fighter.
ITV: From the first round you could see that that result was never really in doubt but were you impressed with how Arthur closed the show?
BM: Absolutely. He's a great puncher who puts his shots together well. He can actually look slow in there at times but that's because he is very methodical and rarely wastes a shot. He is a very scientific fighter who has loads of self belief. That self belief can sometimes bubble over and come across as arrogance and I'm sure a few were surprised with the way he leant over the ropes for a chat with Frank Warren before the guy had even been counted out. But he needs that confidence and it's a confidence all the best fighters have.
ITV: This was Arthur's first fight on ITV1 and Frank Warren is obviously priming him to become one of the stars of the Sports Network stable. Do you think he has the tools to become a massive star in the same way say Joe Calzaghe and Ricky Hatton before him have?
BM: I'm not sure about that as Calzaghe is a rare talent and there are few fighters in the world as good as him. However I certainly think Alex is good enough to win a world title. He had a great amateur pedigree and I still believe the best amateurs make the best pro's. He is a confident kid with a great personality. He is intelligent, funny and the sort of character the casual observer can warm to.
ITV: My big worry with Alex is the trainer situation. He had another change of corner at the weekend with Jimmy Tibbs coming in and while sparring men like Willie Limond and Ricky Burns is fine at European level, he surely needs something more solid in place if he is serious about legitimate world titles?
BM: Again I'm not sure what happened in the lead-up to this one but changing trainers and corners so often is not very sensible. It's not a bad thing having a change of trainer at some stage during your career but chopping and changing all the time can be unsettling. At this level there is also a lot of hype, and so you need someone in there who you can trust and who can tell you truthfully where you are going wrong as well as where you are going right. Jimmy Tibbs is a great trainer with bags of experience and so I hope they can work something out.
ITV: The super-featherweight division at world level right now runs very deep. Which of the belt holders would you like to see him in with?
BM: At this stage, I wouldn't go near Edwin Valero. He's the WBA champ, 20-0 and a ferocious puncher. I'd also steer clear of WBO champ Joan Guzman, who I feel is exceptional. Marco Antonio Barrera on the other hand I would look at. He is certainly in the twilight of his career now and for me Rocky Juarez beat him in their first fight. He showed his versatility to win their return but I still don't see him as the fighter he was. I would seriously consider taking on Barrera. The only problem with that is you would almost certainly have to travel to America to do so. I also hear that Malcolm Klassen won the IBF title at the weekend, and I'd put Alex in with him straight away. I believe he's connected to South African promoter Rodney Berman, so if Frank Warren can do business with Berman I reckon he'd have a great chance of winning that belt early in the new year.
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Originally Posted by cockey cockney
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