Arthur raring to go

Alex Arthur is ready to explode in to action in his interim WBO super-featherweight championship fight against Koba Gogoladze at the Cardiff International Arena next Saturday.

Victory against the Philadelphia-based Georgian would see Arthur become world champion unless the title’s current holder Joan Guzman agrees to defend against the 29-year-old within 90 days.

The Edinburgh fighter’s world title dreams have been put on hold since last November when he successfully defended his European crown for a third time after stopping Spain’s Sergio Palomo in the fifth round in Glasgow.

A fight against Russian Alexander Hrulev for the vacant WBO Intercontinental super-featherweight title in March was postponed after Arthur sustained an arm injury.

This Saturday, however, the Scotsman, who has relinquished his British, Commonwealth and European titles in order to clear the way for a world title shot, is hoping to take a step closer to his long-held ambition by beating Gogoladze.

And the fight cannot come quickly enough for the agitated Arthur.

He said: “I seem to have been in my training camp for months. I’m sick of being in the gym, sick of doing weights and sick of dieting. I want to unleash my frustration.

“I’m looking to go out this weekend and put everything that I’ve worked on in to practise

“My motivation depends on the fight and occasion. I have been easily motivated for this fight but I would be lying if I said I had been exceptionally motivated for some of my previous fights.

“I was getting bored defending my European titles. But I’m looking forward to Saturday. I’ve never been so motivated for a fight for a long time.”

However, Arthur knows his southpaw opponent, who has lost only once in 21 fights, is unlikely to roll over easily.

He said: “He’s a typical Eastern European fighter, he’s always holding and he likes to hit without being hit.

“He’s been warned for holding before and he’s had points deducted for low blows. He doesn’t stand and fight very often.

“You can never quite tell how things are going to go but I expect a difficult fight, obviously.

“I expect him to bring the best out of me. And if he feels my power early on then maybe he will bow out.”

At 29, Arthur is somewhat behind schedule with regard to his career plans but, if all goes well on Saturday, he will be looking to quickly capitalise on his world champion status.

He said: “If come out of the ring Scot-free then I will take a break with my family then get back in to training a week later.

“I want to fight twice more before the year is out.

“And I will be putting pressure on Frank Warren (promoter) to get a fight in Edinburgh again.”