A remarkable turnaround in recent form has seen Cwmbran boxer Jamie Arthur go from Four Nations also-ran to the Commonwealth lightweight final.

As recently as April he was beaten into fourth place at the Four Nations tournament in Killarney, Co Kerry, losing to Scotland's Mark Hastie, against whom he gained revenge in his opening Commonwealth bout last weekend, and then to Bradford's Femi Fehintola.

A certain amount of credit for the improvement has been heaped upon Army coach Billy Powell, who, in the run-up to the games at Aldershot, helped Arthur with a few things relating to the technical side of his game. This, coupled with the determination to do well for his country, appears to have pulled him through.

The run to the final for Aberdeen-born Arthur, began with his 21-12 revenge victory over Hastie, which was secured over the last two rounds as he grew in confidence, thanks to a busy jab and a series of overhand rights.

The next hurdle saw him outscore Lesotho's Koloba Sehlolo 20-9, before victory at the quarter final stage against capable Malaysian Adnan Jusoh,in a bout that brought controversy after the Malaysian team accused the ringside judges of scoring against their man.

Arthur ran out a winner on the 15-point margin rule at the end of the second round following some punishingwork to the body of the man from the Far East.

Wales team manager Roy Chambers confirmed Arthur will be OK for tomorrow's final, saying that the Coed Eva fighter had picked up a slight graze to the head from the Velcro fastening on Khunwane's glove, which would not be a problem.

It also emerged that Arthur's corner were telling him throughout the contest that he was behind, even though they were being tipped off otherwise.

At one point he was told he was five points down as his coaches wanted him to stay busy and not relax against a dangerous opponent.

They admitted afterwards that "he fought like a champion".

If luck remains on his side tomorrow and his nose holds out against the shots that are sure to come his way, he may emerge a true champion.

* In the picture: Arthur in action.