AAA batteries lacking power by Tom Walker Dec 16th 2007

“Amazing” Alex Arthur (9st 4lb) came within a whisker of defeat in a charged atmosphere in the Meadowbank arena last night when the little fancied Salford boxer Steve Foster Jnr (9st 3.5lb) ignored the bookmakers' odds. The Edinburgh man retained his WBO interim super-featherweight title but had to survive a knockdown in the eleventh session to do so.  Arthur was 12-1 on favourite to successfully overcome the Salford man while Foster was available at 6-1 against to upset the title holder. The judges scoring of the fight came in at two of them scoring it 114-111 and the third judge making it even closer at 113-112. Considering Foster had a point deducted for his persistent use of the head (literally) and had to take a standing count in the ninth, this was too close for comfort for the Edinburgh man and his fans. His pre-fight talk of “super fights” and the possibility of going for three weight world titles to immortalise his status in Scottish Boxing has surely come back to haunt him. At no time in the bout was Foster out of contention, and if you can't subdue a gritty featherweight who's coming up to your weight, then what chance of doing the same with the likes of Joan Guzman?  From the outset, Arthur was trying to place his shots while his opponent was determined to hustle him out of his stride with a work rate that bordered on frenetic. The fact that Foster's tactics were bordering on the line between foul and fair meant not a jot to him (Foster) as he nonetheless did succeed in his aim and Arthur had probably his most uncomfortable night since his only defeat at the hands of another Mancunian (Michael Gomez). Foster showed no nerves whatsoever in the “Lions' Den” that was the venue and had his best spell right at the outset, was there a touch of complacency on the part of the odds on home boxer? If that was the case then by the end of the third Arthur had been shaken out of it and started to box with more authority. This round had both of them shaken towards its conclusion by single shots from their opponent which had lathered the audience into a frenzy. Arthur caught Foster with a beautiful uppercut in the fourth but Foster didn't wilt and came back with his trademark overhand bombs. Any signs of torpor on the part of AAA were well and truly cast aside by now and he realised that this was going to be no stroll in the park. Referee Terry O'Connor had his work cut out keeping the diminutive Foster under some form of control and his patience finally snapped in the sixth and he gave the Salford man a public warning and point deduction for using his head like a third fist. The seventh was a bit of  respite in that there was nothing of note in it, with both men trying to summon the extra something which would turn the tide in their favour. By the eighth round Foster had gone back to roughing up the home boxer and received a very stern yet for some unknown reason private warning again for his transgressing the rules. Arthur did have his man down on one knee in the ninth to the obvious joy of his legion of fans, but it happened at the end of the round and the bell probably saved him (Foster) from an early finish. The tough wee man from Manchester wouldn't be that easily put in his place though and upstaged Arthur by knocking him through the ropes in the eleventh for his own standing count. It has to be said that Arthur looked very wobbly indeed when he did regain his feet. Still it has to be noted that he did the right thing and held on for dear life till such time as his head cleared. The final round was a veritable war between them as each sought to stop the other and dispense with the judges scorecards. The final bell rang with attendant cacophony of sound from the fans of both boxers (Foster had a wee knot of travelling fans with him). The corners of both boxers held their man aloft as if to influence the decision, which is understandable if pointless, since the scoring is already in from the judges and in the process of being tallied. The announcement of a unanimous points win for Alex Arthur was greeted with some relief as well as pleasure on the part of his fans. With the capacity of the Meadowbank Arena not fully utilised, there were several hundred empty spaces, this was very possibly the death knell of a “Superfight” in Edinburgh (whether at Easter Road - ground of Hibernian Football Club - or the Castle esplanade) for Amazing Alex Arthur. Sports Network supremo Frank Warren had made it clear that the fans' response would determine the next venue and this surely was not the response he'd anticipated. Britishboxing.net was yet again denied press accreditation in the form of yours truly, despite Frank Warren's assertions that “he'd look forward to seeing me on the night” after the teleconference we'd participated in. Richard Maynard's (Sports Network's press officer) statement on the phone that, quote “We don't need your poxy little website” unquote, is the sort intemperate language that Frank Warren would certainly not have used and can perhaps be construed as his (Maynard's) own feelings toward Britishboxing.net. For a niche market within a niche sport, we do very good numbers indeed and the website is well thought of up and down the UK.  December 2007 is well on course to break our record for visitors.  This can hardly be described as “poxy” but perhaps mathematics is not a strong suit with certain people in Hertfordshire. Mind you, we're not alone in our being ostracised, as many people I've spoken to on the subject has a similar tale to tell, from newspaper journalists to the visual/radio media. Am I personally bothered? I don't think so. If I want to see a boxing show in Europe or beyond for that matter, I'll buy a ticket and watch from the fan's view. As that is all I've ever purported to be, a fan of boxing who gets an opportunity to put his view onto the web and occasionally the written press, and at 60+ years I'm not looking to make a living from reporting on Sports Network shows.

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