If Manny Pacquiao runs out of Mexicans to fight at the super featherweight level, he can always look to jolly old England for opponents.
One of them could be Alex Arthur, the current European, British and Commonwealth 130-pound champion, who would defeat the Filipino icon easily if they faced off—or so his trainer, Wayne McCullough, claimed to a British sports Web site Wednesday.
“[Arthur] would have no problem going in against Pacquiao,” McCullough, a former World Boxing Council bantamweight champion who insists he will get back in the ring as a fighter, told sportinglife.com.
“Personally Pacquiao is made for Alex. He jumps forward and Alex hits so hard and would hurt him,” added the Belfast-born American, who took Arthur along to watch “PacMan” knock out Erik Morales in their rematch last month in Las Vegas, Nevada.
Nicknamed “Amazing” and born in Edinburgh, Scotland, Arthur is climbing the ranks toward a world title shot. He recently recruited McCullough to train him for his title defense against Ricky Burns on Saturday in his hometown.
Currently ranked No. 6 by the World Boxing Council, the 27-year-old Scot boasts a record of 21 wins with 17 knockouts against just one loss—and wants to take away Pacquiao’s position as the No. 1 contender to reigning WBC and International Boxing Federation kingpin Marco Antonio Barrera.
McCullough claimed the Filipino champion is “perfect prey” for his new ward, saying Arthur “would have no problem going in against Pacquiao.”
“I was at the fight with Alex and we watched Pacquiao beat Morales. [Going in] would be no problem, and I would put him in there, no trouble about that,” he added.
Curiously, McCullough himself failed twice to take the WBC 130-pound title from Mexico’s Oscar Larios—who is slated to face Pacquiao in Manila this June after losing his crown to the Filipino’s training partner, Israel Vasquez, just last December 3.
Now based in Las Vegas, the Irishman also challenged Morales for the same WBC belt in 1999, but lost a unanimous decision.
After his second loss to the Mexican last July, McCullough’s trainer—none other than Freddie Roach, who has honed Pacquiao to victories over Barrera and Morales—told him he should call it a day after Larios stopped him in the 10th round for the first knockout defeat of his career.
But McCullough told sportinglife.com: “I am still ranked No. 11 by the WBC, and I am training. I have never officially retired. It’s easier not getting hit but I do miss it.”
