Nick Cook produced the performance of his life to take Alex Arthur's WBO super-featherweight title over 12 rounds.
Champ has no answer to a perfect performance from Nicky
Nicky Cook produced the performance of his life to become the WBO super-featherweight champion of the world.
The Dagenham man dominated Alex Arthur from start to finish to take a unanimous decision and with it, the belt he had always wanted - and Arthur had barely owned.
Scores of 117-112, 117-111, 115-114 were a fair reflection of his superirioty.
Not only did his dad and trainer Paul devise the perfect gameplan to negate the Scot's punching power, his son carried it out with unerring precision and now stands proudly at the top of the super-featherweight division.
Cook clearly meant business from the first bell. Much the busier, his short, sharp work was a feature of the round, a decent jab keeping Arthur at length, forcing him to throw wildly in response. A big right had Arthur backing off, but the tone was already set.
He had clearly seen a weakness in Arthur's defence downstairs and rifled in two rights to the ribs as be buzzed around the champion, crisp combinations impressing and at times, leaving the Scot swiping at air. His workrate meant Arthur could not get a foothold in the fight, and even when he moved into range, he was beaten to the punch.
Cook rocked his man with a heavy left-right combination down the middle as Arthur, as is his wont, let his guard down, but the Scot had got used to the pattern, and seemed comfortable in the knowledge that as the bigger man, his power should soon tell. He did crunch three lefts to the body, but undeterred, the challenger kept up his pace and precise work.
Surprising
Arthur finally found himself - and Cook - at the start of the fourth and after a solid start, made the first real impact with a countering right that buckled the Dagenham man's knees. It was enough to take the snap out of his jab and where he had been coming forward confidently, the timely reminder tempered his attacks. Even so, he managed a long right just before the bell but Arthur had his first round in the bag.
That Cook had kept at a distance for the remainder of the session was not surprising. Coming up from featherweight to face a "massive" super-feather (Arthur's own word) meant a stand-up scrap would've been foolish at best and he and father Paul had clearly worked on his mobility.
And if the challenger had backed off before, he came out for the fifth determined to get back on top. He was in and out sharper and with Arthur's long rights coming from a mile away, the smaller man was able to dodge and invariably dig back. Arthur meanwhile was a sitting target, but a reminder of his strength was there as Cook ended the fifth with a blooded nose.
The pattern was set though and no sooner had the sixth started than Cook stepped inside a right and banged twice to the ribs, proving he was as sharp on the back foot as he was going forward. Even when Arthur beat him to the punch, he ended the exchange with a swift left, irritating the champion if nothing else.
With former world champion Wayne McCullough urging for more and more in between rounds, the Scot came springing out for the seventh but his over-eagerness saw him slip and even though he was smiling through the gumshield as he got up, it did not suggest he was having the time of his life.
Cook meanwhile was fighting the fight of his. A bristling five-punch flourish raised the tempo but Arthur's power was there for all to see 16 seconds from the end of the seventh as a booming right landed flush on the chin and had the Dagenham man hanging on smartly.
Gameplan
Again though, the respite was temporary and the smaller man was soon coming again, backing his man up on the ropes and as Arthur responded with a big left, rocking him with a short cut of his own. At this stage, Cook was on top in all departments. His speed negating Arthur's size, his gameplan rendering the champion's superior power largely irrelevant.
Another slip at the start of the ninth saw Cook on his backside, but this time there was distant sense of disappointment as the crowd feared his good work had been undone with a big shot from the Scot. But this was not Arthur's night. A left-right-left-right flurry rocked his head from side to side and even if he had planned to bully Cook in the closing stages, he just wasn't given the chance.
The struggle to make 130lbs was clearly taking its toll on the champion and even in the 10th as the two traded body shots, his just weren't delivered with the same intent. Cook was quieter by now, but still the aggressor, and as Arthur trudged to his corner at the end of the round, the WBO belt was halfway back to Essex. "Give me faith", Arthur asked in the corner and by then divine intervention was the Scot's only chance.
And he knew it. In the 11th the big shots started coming as Cook back-pedalled, presumably sensing he was well ahead on points. Still, for the first time all night, his concentration lapsed and a left uppercut rocked his head back and reminded him world title fights last 12 rounds.
That final session started with a close exchange between the two and maybe even a kiss. It might have been Arthur, ever the sportsman, handing over the belt he had won in a boardroom. All Cook had to do was close out the fight, keeping out of trouble, but still landing the better shots when the two did come to blows.
When the bell sounded for the finish the pair shared a kiss again and to his eternal credit Arthur knew he was beaten - as he had done for three quarters of the fight - and Cook, knew he had fought and thought his way to a world title at last.
