That the Edinburgh fighter survived the dramatic 11th round knockdown, which almost sent him through the ropes, and got up to see out a merited points win over his Salford rival was testament to both his heart and his conditioning. But as Arthur was the first to admit in his dressing room after an unexpectedly epic contest at Meadowbank, this was not a performance which would have the elite boxers in the superfeatherweight division rushing to avoid him.

In the end, the 29-year-old Scot did what was required of him. He held onto the WBO's interim title which his promoter Frank Warren still anticipates will be elevated to full status within the next two months by a move up to lightweight for current champion Joan Guzman.

On the evidence of Saturday night, certainly, it is difficult to
conceive of how Arthur could relieve the unbeaten Guzman of the title inside a ring. He appeared to have weathered an early storm from the gritty and intensely motivated Foster, who probably won the first three
rounds as he took advantage of a leaky Arthur defence to land regularly with the right hand which would cause so much trouble later in the contest.

By the time Arthur floored Foster with a devilish left hook to the body in the ninth round, the Englishman being saved from a follow-up assault by the bell as he got up at the count of eight, the home fighter had
taken control.

Foster remained determined to upset the odds which had Arthur a 1-14 favourite, however, and seemed on the verge of turning it around in that penultimate round with a punch of stunning precision and venom.

It was déjà vu for Arthur and his supporters as he clambered to his feet and, as he had when suffering his only loss to Michael Gomez four years earlier, began speaking to people outside the ring. This time, however, Arthur repelled Foster's attempts to finish him off and, remarkably, regained his composure sufficiently to win the last round.

He earned a unanimous points verdict from the three English judges, Dave Parris and Roy Francis both seeing it 114-111 in his favour with Paul Thomas giving a closer verdict of 113-112.

Ricky Hatton, who received a standing ovation as he walked to his seat to support close friend Foster, summed it up when he pinched his thumb and forefinger within an inch of each other and told the challenger "You
were that close to winning."

It was too close for the comfort of either Arthur or his promoter
Frank Warren. "I have to rectify the stupid mistakes," admitted Arthur. "I have to get back to the gym, sort them out, work on a few new things and put it all together. I will need to improve hugely for a world title fight.

"The knockdown took me by surprise. I had dropped him in the ninth with the body shot and I thought the fight was over then.

When I looked over at him, I didn't think he was going to get back up. He looked done, I thought the shot had taken the life out of him. But fair play to him, he jumped back up and got on with it.

"Then I really took my foot off the gas. What an idiot... I let it drag, dropped my hands and got nailed. I was never close to staying
down, though. He hadn't been hurting me at all up until then. I think it was more to do with the fact I became far too relaxed. He was banging me with shots over the top and I felt he couldn't break an egg.

"I've got a good chin and a good heart. When I went down, it was nothing to do with not having a good chin. It was just stupidity. But the minute I got to my feet, my head was clear. I wasn't out on my feet, I could see everything clearly. Great champions go down, get back up and win. That's what I did tonight."

Warren was critical of Arthur's performance but believes he would be much improved for a world title fight against better opposition, a contest he still hopes to stage on the esplanade at Edinburgh Castle next September after being encouraged by an attendance of more than 2,000 on Saturday night.

"Alex made it tough for himself tonight, that's the truth of it," said Warren. "He knows he has got more class than that. There were times when he kept the fight at long range and used his height and reach advantage, but he didn't do that enough.

"I'd like to see more head movement from him. From early on, he was getting caught with clean shots from Foster, especially the right hand. Alex is too classy and too good for that.

"We will let the dust settle and see what happens with the WBO. I don't think Guzman will fight Alex, I think he will move up in weight instead. If that happens, Alex will be declared champion and we'll see what's there for him. He is a quality fighter, he will be declared world champion and he will defend that title. Alex is 29 and I think his
career has really gone well. He is now at the stage where he is looking
for bigger, better things.

"The crowd turned out tonight and got behind their man. As long as they continue to do that, a fight at Edinburgh Castle is a possibility for Alex. That's the name of the game, creating special events."