Behave Yourself

Promising light-heavyweight Lyndon Arthur is both intimidating and hard as nails. So it’s probably a bad idea to break into his car, writes Terry Dooley.

- Terry Dooley

YOU didn’t need to have audio on a video posted on Twitter earlier this year to know that the kid dressed up in a traditional Mancunian all-black scally outfit was terrified. The glistening trail of tears and snot told its own story as he put his hooded head down and whispered “I’m sorry, bro” to someone just off camera. His day probably started out as too many do for a teenager in the area of Moston: go out, meet up with some mates, and then cause a bit of trouble.

He must have assumed he had struck lucky when he broke into a decent looking car and began rifling through its contents. He was probably working under the assumption that if he was caught he would have a good chance of outrunning the owner.

Sadly for him, though, the car was the property of light-heavyweight contender Lyndon “King” Arthur, 15-0 (12), who caught up to him before he could scatter and dragged him in front of a camera for a ticking off.

Standing at 6ft 2ins and with one of the most chillingly stoical deadeye stares in boxing, Arthur reduced the would-be thief to jelly. Things only got worse for him, as the 28-year-old contender hauled the youth to the Moston and Collyhurst Boys Club, where Pat Barrett was waiting to impart some words of wisdom.

“I tried to get him into the gym but I think he is too far gone in the aspect of where he is — I guess it is part of growing up around here, really,” said Arthur when talking to Boxing News. “We just told him to come and train, but kids have their own minds nowadays.

“I don’t think he was aware it was my car. It isn’t a case of it being funny, it is a case of him learning from that and not stealing from someone’s car before he gets stopped by either getting hurt or being in jail. Again, it is probably being a product of growing up in a place where kids doing nonsense like that is the norm.”