By Mark Vester

WBO super featherweight champion Alex Arthur has learned that he will defend his title against former British and Commonwealth champion Nicky Cook on September 6 at Manchester's MEN Arena. A win over Cook would set up a potential meeting with Commonwealth lightweight champ Amir Khan, who will see action in the main event.

Richard Maynard told The Scotsman that Frank Warren tried to secure Marco Antonio Barrera for Arthur. They were not able to get the fight done.

"We tried very hard to get American-based ring legend Marco Antonio Barrera for Alex as a first title defence but that fell through so Alex will now fight Nicky Cook," Maynard said. "But we know that Nicky is a quality fighter who can test Alex Arthur. Frank Warren has also told Alex that, if he sees off the challenge of Nicky Cook successfully, then Arthur could face Bolton's Commonwealth lightweight champion Amir Khan, in a WBO title defence in what would be a great England v. Scotland fight that the fans would love. But first Arthur must meet and beat Nicky Cook on September 6 in Manchester for that to become a reality."

Arthur told the paper that he's happy to finally know the name of his opponent and can now proceed with a proper training camp. He will have former champ Wayne McCullough helping him along with the fight.

"Now I know who I'll be defending against I can plan my training regime accordingly," Arthur said. "I will take nothing for granted against Cook – who has been there and done it title-wise – although I look forward to retaining my WBO title against him. In this connection, I'm planning to go to Cyprus for ten days to work out with my conditioning coach, John Watson, to ensure that I'm absolutely sharp for Cook in September. I also plan to have Irish former world super-bantamweight champion Wayne McCullough in my corner, as before, against Nicky Cook."

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