By Ben Dirs

Cook (left) feels Arthur might be struggling at the weight

Romford's Nicky Cook says Alex Arthur will pay for his over-confidence when the two meet in Manchester on Saturday.

Edinburgh's Arthur, 30, will make the first defence of his WBO super-featherweight crown at the MEN Arena.

"Arthur's been talking about fighting Joel Casamayor, Manny Pacquiao and whoever," Cook, 28, told BBC Sport.

"But Arthur's got to do his job on Saturday first. I'm 100% sure I'll be holding the belt above my head."

Cook's clash with Arthur is on the same bill as Amir Khan's match with Colombian Breidis Prescott. Arthur weighed in bang on the 130lb super-featherweight limit, Cook was half a pound under.

Cook is making his second world title tilt after last summer's unsuccessful bid to dethrone WBO featherweight champion Steve Luevano.

When you become world champion, they're like a bunch of hungry wolves trying to get your belt, so you've got to train even harder Alex Arthur's trainer Wayne McCullough

Cook was floored five times by the American en route to an 11th-round knockout, but the former British, European and Commonwealth featherweight champion says he will be a different proposition at the higher weight.

"I'm going to be a lot more solid and a lot stronger than I was at 9st," said Cook, who has been defeated only once in 28 fights.

"Super-feather is the weight I should have been at for my first world title fight, it makes so much difference.

"Before, making 9st was absolutely killing me and the weight was definitely the issue against Luevano. At world level you have to have the whole package - the strength, the stamina, the sharpness - and obviously I fell short in the strength department.

"[Arthur's camp] must realise that against Luevano I was being put down by body-shots because I was too weak at the weight. Let's see if Arthur can withstand my body punches when he's trying to boil down to 9st 4lb.

DEBATE Cook could also argue that he has more experience fighting at genuine world level than Arthur BBC Sport's Ben Dirs

"Arthur keeps talking about fighting at lightweight, so I believe that's the division he believes he should be in. And if he's struggling [to make the super-featherweight limit], he will come a cropper on Saturday like I did against Luevano."

Cook is also unconcerned about being outmuscled and believes Arthur's unconvincing win over Stephen Foster Jr last December showed the Scot could be given problems by smaller men.

Cook said: "Foster gave Arthur nightmares, and Foster looked like a super-bantamweight up against a light-welter. Arthur put that performance down to not losing weight properly, but whether he did or he didn't, it was a terrible performance."

Arthur, whose only defeat in 26 fights came when he was knocked out by Michael Gomez in 2003, has been told by promoter Frank Warren that he could land a fight with Mexican legend Marco Antonio Barrera if he gets past Cook.

And trainer Wayne McCullough, who puts the Foster blip down to complacency, says his charge's training could not have gone any better.

"When you're number one in the world, the smaller fights don't mean anything so you're not going to do the proper training and eat the right food and do the right things," said McCullough, a former bantamweight world champion.

"When you become world champion, they're like a bunch of hungry wolves trying to get your belt. So you've got to train even harder. Alex knows that and he's prepared that way."

Also on the bill at the MEN Arena, former Olympic gold medallist Audley Harrison takes on Brazilian George Arias.