Former world champion Arthur is confident that he has what it takes to nurture Scotland’s boxing talentJUST over a decade ago, Alex Arthur became world boxing champion. But since his retirement in 2013, the Edinburgh man has had an easy life – commentating and doing punditry on television and radio, free from the stress that being intimately involved in boxing at the highest level brings.

But the sport which dominated Arthur’s childhood and most of his adult life has proved to have had too much of a pull for Arthur and now, he is back in the ring.

The 39 year-old has formed the Alex Arthur Academy, with the aim of producing Scottish world champions. Arthur has transformed a former office in Rose Street in Edinburgh’s city centre into a gym, which opened its doors just a couple of weeks ago. It will be open to the public, but Arthur’s primary aim is to produce a new wave of boxing champions.

“One reason I’ve formed this academy is that it’s a business venture but the main reason is that I believe that I’m at a place in my life where I can really help young boxers who are coming from the amateur ranks into the pros, as well as good amateurs,” he said.

“That advantage I have is that I’ve been successful in the amateurs and the pros so I know what it takes to be successful in both. There’s not anyone else like that in Scotland – someone who can pass on that kind of knowledge to the young up-and-coming fighters in this country.”

Arthur is not the type to merely put his name to something and then sit back and leave it to others. The former Commonwealth Games gold medallist will be involved in every aspect of the boxers life, which is why he has applied for his manager’s license and he believes that he can bring something different to what is currently on the Scottish boxing scene.

“I don’t think there’s enough of a personal relationship between the boxer and the manager anymore, I think that has disappeared,” he said. “I really like the idea of properly looking after young guys coming through, dealing with promoters on their behalf, making sure that they get the right deals and working hard to get them sponsorship so that they don’t need to work while they’re in training for their fights – all of those things.

“Nowadays, all too often, managers are only interested in taking their cut and doing nothing else but I think there’s a lot more to being a good manager than that.”

Arthur is not scared of getting his hands dirty though, and he plans on being in the gym regularly training his charges. His experience, which is matched by only a few men across the UK, means that he knows exactly what the daily grind that fighters will be going through is like and he is also well acquainted with what it takes to make it to the very top of one of the toughest sports on the planet.

“Doing some fancy pad work doesn’t make you a good trainer, it involves so many more factors that,” said Arthur.

“To be a good trainer you need to be a nutritionist, a priest, a dad, an uncle and so much more – you’ve got to be everything rolled into one.

“And I’ve got a great coaching team who I’ve worked with for a long time and who I trust, as well great strength and conditioning coaches who I worked with during my career who will be involved in the gym with me. We’re a great team and we’re going to be force to be reckoned with.”

Having worked with and mentored Josh Taylor, who is looking likely to be Scotland’s next boxing world champion in the very near future, Arthur has experience of working out what it takes to bring out the best in a young fighter. And he has the belief in his skills as a coach and a manager that he can nurture young talents in a way that will allow them to fulfil their potential. “I really don’t see why I can’t produce world champions,” said Arthur.

“To be a successful boxer obviously the individual needs the talent and the ability, that’s the first thing. But if I have a talented young fighter who has all of the right attributes, I believe that I can and I will produce world champions. If I didn’t believe that, I wouldn’t be doing this.”

Arthur has something of a vested interest in making his academy a success. Two of his three sons, Alex and Machlan box themselves and so will be regulars in the gym.

It is 10 year-old Machlan in particular who has shown real signs of following in his father’s footstepswith many outside observers tipping the lad to be a future world champion himself.

And with Arthur knowing only too well how precarious a business boxing can be, he is keen to have a hand in guiding his son. “Boxing is definitely where Machlan’s future is – or that’s certainly what it’s looking like anyway,” he said.

“He’ll be at the gym all the time because he absolutely loves training and he’s shown such a great aptitude for boxing from such a young age.

“To anybody who has seen him or watched him fight it’s clear to see how good he is and how good he can become.

“Physically, he’s very good – that’s always been very obvious. He’s unbelievably strong for his age and size, he’s ridiculously quick, he’s naturally aggressive, he’s constantly trying to learn and improve and he doesn’t know about quitting. But it’s his attitude that really makes me think that he can be successful.

“So making sure he gets the right guidance is massively important to me – I did things during my pro career that if my dad had known more about the sport it would have been a different ball game so it’s really important for Machlan to be guided properly.

“Although having said that, he’s got his own mind so he’ll make his own decisions but it’s important that I help to direct him where I can. .”

Arthur knows only too well how much boxing can dominates ones life. Becoming a boxing champion required 100 percent commitment and not only from the boxer but from their entire support team too.

He admits that he did swither about whether he was willing to commit to that extent once again but his love for the sport won out and so he is well aware that his future will involve countless hours in the gym and more worryingly, the bucketfuls of stress that being involved in boxing at the highest level brings.

“Boxing is what I know and what I’ve always known,” he said. “I started boxing at the age of 10 and retired from the pro game when I was 35 so I have been involved in the boxing environment for much more than half my life. And the thought of being back in it to that extent does excite me but on the other hand, I did think oh, no.

“I thought I was done with that kind of life because chatting on the radio or the telly about fighters you don’t know on a personal level is much easier than being in the thick of it.

A few weeks ago, I was watching Lewis Paulin fight Stephen Tiffney and I’ve been involved with Lewis so watching him was really hard – I’ve not had that feeling of wanting someone to win so much for such a long time and so that was tough.

“I was sitting there thinking - is this what my life is going to be like from now on? Right now, I’ve got a full head of hair and not one grey but if I have to go through the stress of watching one of my boxers fight every week, I’ll be grey and bald before you know it. But it’ll be worth it.”

srgrreag