Not good enough by Arth
BELOW-PAR LYNDON ADMITS HE MUST GET BETTER TO BECOME WORLD CHAMP
LYNDON ARTHUR knows he must improve if he is going to fulfil his world title dream following an unconvincing win over Davide Faraci.
Arthur showed his class to put Faraci down twice in the ninth before earning a stoppage at the Royal Albert Hall.
But, for parts of the fight, he failed to sparkle and took too many shots.
The 30-year-old is in line for a shot at WBO lightheavyweight champion Joe Smith, as the organisation’s No.1 contender, and knows he must perform better.
“I made hard work of it and I’m sure (trainer) Pat Barrett will tell you I could have won earlier, but it is what it is,” said the unbeaten Mancunian, who improves to 19-0.
“I got the knockout but, if I want to be fighting for world titles, I’ve got to be better than that. I can’t be getting bloody noses like I have done.
“I can be sharper than that, but I got the job done.
“I’m levels above him, that’s probably why I switched off a little bit.
“We’ll go back to the gym and look at it. It was a great knockout but, leading up to the knockout, I probably could have done that in rounds four or five.
“I should have let my hands go a bit more. That was below average compared to my ability.”
Arthur’s ninth-round finish was stunning and he floored the previously-unbeaten Faraci with a right counter before decking the Italian again with a left uppercut, right-cross combination.
Faraci, 29, bravely rose a second time, but referee Marcus Mcdonnell waved it off when Arthur landed two more solid rights.
Next Arthur must come through a rematch with Anthony Yarde, whose fight on Saturday was postponed because his opponent pulled out injured, before a possible shot at Smith.
Promoter Frank Warren said: “Anthony Yarde should have been on the card but, unfortunately for him, his opponent pulled out.
“That will be his next fight. They are contracted to fight, and they will fight each other.”