Jason Booth is one of the most decorated lighter weight fighters over the last decade on the British boxing scene, and "2 Smooth" has his eye on yet another belt to add to his impressive collection.
The 31 year old Commonwealth bantam champion will drop down to super flyweight and challenge reigning British titlist Lee Haskins at the Indoor Sports Centre in Leigh, England on Friday, April 17 in the chief support bout to the Matthew Marsh vs. Mark Moran British super bantam title main event.
The slick Nottingham man has built his career upon a cagey and captivating style and Booth's participation in a total of 14 IBO, European, Commonwealth and British title fights gives him the kind of massive advantage in experience that any opponent would be hard pressed to overcome.
But Booth, 35-5 (12), could be walking into a minefield on April 17.
British champion Haskins,18-2 (9), has a six year edge in youth and the Bristol southpaw's unconventional, rapid fire from all angles style could play havoc with Booth's more traditional orientation.
Haskins also brings the momentum of having handily defeated two of the top small men in the UK, Andy Bell and Jaime McDonnell, in front of hostile partisan audiences over his last two outings.
The pairing could steal the show in Leigh as there aren't two more determined fighters with more to lose to be found anywhere and an absolute bonfire of a British title fight can be expected once the bell rings.
Frank Maloney Promotions presents the Super Bantamweight Championship of Britain between Mark Moran and Matthew Marsh along with full undercard support at the Indoor Sports Centre in Leigh, England on Friday, April 17, 2009.
Tickets, priced at £70 for Ringside and £35 General Admission, are available by logging onto www.frankmaloney.com or by calling the Box Office at 0871 226 1508.
Sky Sports will televise the action live on SS1 at 10PM.
The card has been sanctioned! Professional boxing returns to the Halifax Metro Centre along with superstar recording artist/producer, Akon, CEO of Konvict Ringside, for A Night of Glory!
Halifax, NS – Konvict Ringside Chief Executive Officer, and one of the world’s most popular performers, Akon, will be visiting Halifax to help promote A Night of Glory, an evening of professional boxing slated for the Halifax Metro Centre, Saturday, May 2, 2009. In addition, actor/comedian Eddie Griffin, Konvict Ringside Executive Vice President, will be on hand during the official press conference to be held on April 30 and the official weigh-in scheduled for Friday, May 1.
Gabriel Gaide, Chief Executive Officer of Konvict Ringside/Standing 8 Productions exclaimed “I couldn’t be any happier. Having Akon and Eddie in Halifax will be a tremendous boost to an already fantastic boxing card. The boxing business can be very frustrating and I understand things have not been moving at the speed some folks would like to see in Halifax recently, but when the fans come to this show, I guarantee they will not be disappointed in the performances of these fighters. We are thrilled to be sanctioned by the Nova Scotia Boxing Authority.”
Nova Scotia Boxing Authority chair, Mickey MacDonald, expressed his support for Gaide. “We are really happy that Gabriel has come forward with this card. We are very excited. I expect a crowd of five or six thousand fans, if not more, for a major card like this. Hopefully this will help the sport return to its heydays when boxing took centre stage in Nova Scotia.”
Jason Naugler will face David Whittom in a rematch of their bout where Naugler captured the Canadian Light Heavyweight Title, while Jean Paul Mendy squares off with Abdullah Ramadan for Mendy’s IBF Intercontinental Super Middleweight belt in the headline matches. Other bouts will include Shawn Hawk versus Erick Fields, Christophe Canclaux against Joel Juarez, Juan Ubaldo Cabrera faces Octavio Castro, Melinda Cooper squares off with Lisa Brown, Mehdi Azri versus Shawn Garnett, Ian Gardner takes on Martin Berthiaume, Tyson Cave against Rudy Fraser, Eddie Dawson tangles with Kareem Chartrand and Steve Cannell opposes Ricardo Blackman.
This card has been sanctioned by the Nova Scotia Boxing Authority and is subject to change.
A Konvict Ringside Production. For further information, please refer to the contact above.
LONG ISLAND - Tommy "The Razor" Rainone plans to turn heads by unseating the recently-crowned New York State Welterweight champion Daniel Sostre on May 8 at the Plattduetsche Park Restaurant in Franklin Square, NY.
Rainone, 12-2 (4 knockouts), considers it to his advantage that the fight will take place in his neck of the woods where his loyal home crowd will be out in force to support their native son.
"We came close to fighting a few times in the last year or so but things didn't quite pan out," Rainone, 29, of Plainview, Long Island says. "They wanted to have the fight in Monticello but it made no sense since the fans wouldn't be able to make the trip. We've waited a bit and now we're fighting with something important on the line."
Sostre, 8-3 (3 knockouts), is known as "The Hudson Valley Kid". Hailing from Highland, NY, he is five years younger than the challenger. Sostre won the New York State title in a mild upset over Mike Ruiz this past January, earning a majority decision victory.
"I've seen him fight live twice," says Rainone. "I think he's a good, solid all-around fighter. He's smart but doesn't do anything great. He's got good ring intelligence and is good defensively. I won't be able to beat him throwing one punch at a time, I have to really work to get through to him."
Just like every fight, Rainone will train at Westbury's Winters Boxing Club with Jorge Gallardo. Rainone intends to bring in world class sparring, including number two world junior-middleweight contender Yuri Foreman of Brooklyn, as well as Sostre's last opponent Mike Ruiz to help prepare for this challenge.
"Sparring with the class of fighters that I have been has given me a lot of confidence going into the fight. I'm going to be in the best shape of my life.
"Right now, the New York State Welterweight title means everything to me. This will be a good step in the right direction. With the amount of people who will be there supporting me, the public will have to take notice."
The Plattduetsche Park Restaurant is located at 1132 Hempstead Turnpike in Franklin Square, Long Island, NY. The fight will headline a boxing event promoted by Ring Promotions.