Arthur 'robbed' by judges

Arthur takes a stiff right

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Alex Arthur admitted he was in shock after believing he had done enough to retain his WBO super-featherweight title against Nicky Cook.

The Edinburgh boxer lost on all three judges scorecards, with only Terry O'Connor making it close at 115-114, but the champion felt he clearly won the fight and rued the decision to employ three English judges.

"I really think that they robbed me of my title, I really do," the 30-year-old said. "It was three English judges - in England.

"A fighter knows in his heart if he has won or lost a fight and I really thought I had won.

"I could see the shock on some people's faces at ringside. I don't think a lot of them could believe it.

"I thought I was controlling the fight and it seemed that Nicky was running away in the last two rounds. He didn't want to fight.

Love a re-match

"And at the end, he thought I had won it. He came up to me and said, 'You're a great champion, you have won the fight. Well done.'

"So I do not feel like I lost it and I am a wee bit shocked. Obviously, I would love a re-match. I don't think I will get one but I would love it."

Contrary to Arthur's comments, Cook felt he believed he was in front on the scorecards entering the final few rounds and was simply looking to stay out of trouble.

"I was confident that I had been slipping ahead on the judges' cards. I thought I was comfortably winning and, in the last couple of rounds, I just made sure that I boxed sensibly," he said.

"Alex is a fantastic boxer and I didn't realise he was that strong but we had a game plan and stuck to it for 12 rounds.

"We kept it simple and it paid off and I'm a world champion now."