New Champion - Sharp Cook takes Arthur's Title
Published September 7, 2008 by Martin Bean
Dagenham’s Nicky Cook sprang a surprise by outpointing Alex Arthur to take his WBO Super Featherweight crown. Cook looked to be too sharp from the very first bell and questions are now sure to be asked as to whether doing the 9st 4lbs (130 lbs) limit had simply become too much for Arthur.
Nicky Cook was making his first appearance up at Super Featherweight and it seemed to give him a new lease of life, showing he had recovered from the tough beating that Steve Luevano gave him in his previous world title challenge.
Arthur appeared to be robotic for most of the fight—there was no head movement and no ‘snap’ or sharpness as he just walked forward. Even his footwork looked out of sorts—numerous times he lunged towards Cook only to be side stepped with ease.
Arthur’s best success came at the end of the seventh round, when he landed a fantastic right hand (his best punch of the fight by a mile) and had Cook hanging on, but it was late in the round and Cook still had enough about him to survive to the bell.
The official scores were 117-112, 117, 111, 115-114 in a unanimous decision victory—Cook simply had all the answers for Arthur on this night and seemed to have the last say in any exchanges. Cook’s hand speed was particularly impressive, although Arthur being out of sorts may have flattered him in this respect.
Where both go from here will be interesting—Arthur had been mentioned as a possible opponent for Marco Antonio Barrera and that chance may now go to Cook, who would surely relish such an opportunity. For Arthur, a step up to lightweight is imminent on this display. Perhaps a cross roads match with Amir Khan could be a possibility? That would certainly put bums on seats.
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