"
I've turned my life around with the help of my corner and everyone - Alex fought the real Michael Gomez tonight
"
Michael Gomez
Michael Gomez upset the odds - and the locals - in Edinburgh by beating Alex Arthur to take his British super-featherweight crown.
The challenger from Manchester stopped Arthur in the fifth round of a ferocious contest, stunning his passionate hometown fans.
The undefeated Scot was making the third defence of his crown and was looking to win the Lonsdale belt outright.
It was a make-or-break bout for Gomez, the former British champion and WBU title challenger, who was cheered on at ringside by Ricky Hatton.
The 26-year-old had threatened to retire if he failed to win and that desire showed.
He made a blistering start and rocked Arthur with a solid left, but the Scot fought back with a range of good punches to finish the first round strongly.
All-out war
Arthur soon got the jab going in the second and he threw Gomez's head back with a stinging left and right combination.
But the Englishman battled back with a flurry of his own punches in the third, leaving Arthur with cuts to his nose and eye.
Gomez's plan to lure his opponent into an all-out war was working.
Despite suffering a cut to the right eye, he again rocked the champion with another right to the chin before the bell again saved the Scot.
Arthur came on strong at the start of the fifth, with Gomez soaking up several good shots that would have finished off some boxers.
But he kept coming forward and got through with a stunning right to the chin to leave Arthur needing a count of eight.
His legs were unsteady and although he made the next count of eight it was delaying the inevitable as the referee stepped in to stop the champion taking any more punishment.
Afterwards, Gomez declared that, having gone off the rails in the past, he was now back to his best.
"The only person who has beaten me in the past is myself," he said. " "But I've turned my life around."
Gomez immediately turned his thoughts to a re-match with London's Kevin Lear, who beat him in May 2002.
"Kevin Lear won't believe the real Michael Gomez,"he said. "That is the fight I would like next. I would love to turn [that loss] around."