Joan Guzman, the WBO super-featherweight champion from the Dominican Republic, yesterday warned world title hopeful Alex Arthur that there is no place for him to hide.

Guzman is adamant he will still travel to Edinburgh to make a mandatory defence of his crown after the bout, scheduled for Meadowbank Sports Arena next Saturday, was called off on Thursday when the champion ran into difficulties trying to obtain a visa.

Initially, inaccurate reports were circulated on the internet that Guzman had decide to give up his title rather than come to Scotland for a mandatory defence so he could concentrate on securing a superfight with one of the leading Mexicans.

A spokesman for Arthur then fuelled the rumour by announcing that the Scot had automatically been elevated to the status of champion, a claim that also infuriated Sports Network promoter Frank Warren.

Jose Nunez, Guzman's manager, also reacted furiously to the spurious claim yesterday: "Joan is not giving up his belt. That was never even a possibility. He has worked extremely hard and gone through tremendous sacrifices to become a world champion and he will go to Scotland and successfully defend his title. Rest assured that team Guzman will have all the appropriate paperwork for this fight. We know what has to be done and we understand the time frame that is needed to accomplish this."

Guzman, who boasts a perfect 28-0 record, has fought once in the UK, when he beat Fabio Daniel Oliva in Cardiff in 2002 to land the vacant WBO super-bantamweight crown. Consequently, Warren, who is promoting the bout, sees no reason to suggest Guzman will be denied entry and is confident the fight will eventually go ahead, probably in June.

Mario Rivero, the WBO representative, also expects Guzman to make a defence in the capital after confirming that the 31-year-old remains champion. "Guzman has had visa problems but I can confirm that his management team are sorting these out and the fight should go ahead in due course as planned," said Sean Gibbons, matchmaker for San Diego-based Sycuan Ringside Promotions, who promote Guzman, added: "Right now we are taking a wait-and- see approach. We are waiting for Frank Warren to give us the new rescheduled date."