CWMBRAN'S Commonwealth gold-medal winning boxer Jamie Arthur is aiming to be a big hit outside the ring by studying at university.

Jamie, who won gold at Manchester's Commonwealth Games last summer, has signed up to a part-time degree course in Sports Studies at the University of Wales College, Newport (UWCN).

Jamie used the Elite Cymru sports team for advice about going into higher education. They looked at different university courses on his behalf.

After a meeting with a tutor at UWCN, Jamie was offered a place, funded by Elite Cymru.

Lightweight boxer Jamie recently turned professional and won his first two fights in Glasgow and Cardiff.

He hopes that the qualification will help him to become a coach when he finally quits boxing.

Jamie, 22, who has begun the academic work, said: "I want to be out of boxing by the time I'm 30 and then go into teaching or coaching. When I was at school I didn't have the interest to learn. Coming back as a mature student, I'll have the dedication necessary to get my degree.

"When I was at school I was a bit young and I wasn't ready to knuckle down and learn. I left school early because I was working and I thought money was more important, but because I hadn't got qualifications I ended up working on a building site and you wish you'd worked harder.

"I'm enjoying the degree because I've always been interested in sport and it's great to be learning about it. I'm just one of the class and that's they way I want it to be.

"It's definitely a good idea to keep up your education. Sport doesn't last forever - especially boxing. My advice would be to make sure you have something that you enjoy doing ready for when your sporting career is over."