Jamie Arthur would not have had the chance to become British champion had he not been bullied as a youngster.

The Cwmbran ring ace fulfils a lifelong dream when he challenges for Martin Lindsay's (15-0) British featherweight title at Leigh Indoor Sports Village on Friday night.

Arthur (16-2), who won a 2002 Commonwealth Games gold medal, quit boxing in July 2005 after consecutive losses, but returned after almost three years and is currently on a seven-fight winning streak.

He said: "I moved from Scotland to Wales when I was four-years-old, but being Scottish and ginger made me a target for bullies. I was picked on daily by a group of boys who lived down the road.

"When I was nine I decided to do something about it and found a boxing gym. For the first month I didn't tell my parents I was there."

He was soon being recognised as one of most talented young sportsmen in Wales. Arthur won several national boxing titles and played football for Wales at schoolboy level.

Arthur, 30, added: "I had to make a choice between boxing and football. I went with my heart. Boxing is what I excelled at and I believe I made the right choice.

"Winning gold for Wales at the Commonwealth Games was by far one of my best moments so far, but beating Lindsay would even top that.

"I have been boxing for more than 20 years, but winning a major professional title against Lindsay is something so special."

Belfast's Lindsay, 27, will be making his first defence of the title he won against Scot Paul Appleby last year.