By Oli Smith
It was a night of two halves at the Seaburn Centre in Sunderland as Jason Booth defended his British Super Bantamweight title against former holder Michael Hunter, whilst local boy Tony Jefferies looked to improve his record to four straight wins. The main event of the evening was the eagerly anticipated matchup between Booth and Hunter. Jason Booth has been on a stunning run of form lately which has seen him move up in weight, dominate his competition and capture British honours in the space of six fights. Michael Hunter meanwhile needed to find his feet, after being picked apart by Steve Molitor for the World title, suffering his first defeat in the process; Hunter seemed to lose his way. Tonight he planned to impose himself on the diminutive Booth and take back the title that he had previously defended with an iron fist.
Booth 33-5 (14KOs) is one of the most effective counter punchers on the British scene right now, at 5’ 4’’ tall he often finds himself against taller, rangier foes like his opponent tonight. Michael Hunter 29-2-1 (13KOs) built his reputation on fearsome pressure fighting; it was this matchup of styles that had many hoping for a domestic fight of the year candidate to emerge from the aftermath.
Booth entered the ring as favourite based on his recent body of work, last time out he took care of Rocky Dean with relative ease over twelve rounds, tonight it seemed would be a war of attrition. Michael Hunter was eager to gain position at the centre of the ring from the start. His physical advantages were immediately apparent as the two men squared off. Booth was the first to find success with spearing double jabs that found their way through Hunter’s awkward guard. Booth has always worked well to the body, and tonight was no exception. Chopping left hands found their mark time and again as Hunter attempted to walk through them.
The action moved at a high pace with the referee having little to do other than break up a small tussle between the men after the bell had sounded. It seemed frustration had already set in as Hunter shoved the notoriously hard to hit Booth.
Through the next few rounds Booth used every bit of his experience to break Michael Hunter’s will, flashy combinations landed and sneaky side steps out of range saw Hunter hitting nothing but air. The second and third rounds confirmed Booth’s supreme counter punching abilities, whilst the former champion piled on the pressure, it seemed he was trying too hard to impose his physicality.
Booth continued to fight the perfect fight in the fourth round as the counter puncher became the aggressor and he began actively seeking out Hunter with a rapier like jab and left hook, with the latter Booth could find his target at will. At first he tested the waters upstairs with success, as the round wore on he began to aim for the body, this is where Booth struck gold. Slowly but surely, Hunter began to wilt from the chopping left hooks downstairs. At the end of the fourth Hunter looked disconsolately over at his corner as he ended the worst round of the night.
The fifth round was make or break, Hunter’s corner had given him a stern talking to, there was no way he could go twelve rounds at the pace Booth had set. With that in mind he came out firing. Booth, imbued with supreme confidence and gaining momentum took it all in his stride. Lightening fast combos were always punctuated with the same left hook body shot, midway through the round it caused Hunter to buckle noticeably, the end was near. Only Booth wouldn’t be given the opportunity to finish a near perfect night’s work. Having nothing left to give, Hunter called time while on his stool at the end of the fifth.
After the main event, local hero Tony Jefferies would get his turn in the spotlight, having impressed so far in his first three outings – all by KO – he was expected to make easy work of Artem Solomko, whose record suggested a pushover at 10-17, seven of those losses coming by way of knockout. Once again we were reminded never to judge a book by its cover. The main event was meant to be a domestic fight of the year candidate over twelve rounds and ended up as a five round beat down. This contest which most believed wouldn’t get out of the first round, ended up going the stipulated six round distance and gave Tony Jefferies a real night’s work for the first time since turning pro.
The first round seemed to be going to plan for Jefferies as his superior hand speed allowed him to knock Solomko off balance with his jab. The follow up shots punished the Belarusian against the ropes. Then something strange happened, something Tony Jefferies hadn’t been counting on. Solomko starting throwing back. Being vastly more experienced in the paid ranks than the man he was brought over to lose against, Solomko held when he needed to, he threw back enough to remain competitive and spoiled when the going got tough. In short, he gave Jefferies the most valuable night’s work he could have asked for.
For six hard rounds he kept the action close, not letting the highly touted Jefferies gain too much momentum, he also managed to find success when he had no real right to do so. No doubt Jefferies will be studying the tape hard in the coming weeks, small mistakes left gaps which Solomko exploited with ease. A habit of dropping his hands when coming forward on the inside could have devastating consequences against a notable puncher.
While giving Solomko his due, Jefferies made the fight harder than he had to. Having been heralded as a local hero in Sunderland he often feels pressure to perform spectacularly, the jab would have won this fight comfortably, he chose instead to plant his feet and look for a knockout that wasn’t forthcoming. When the final bell sounded, Jefferies was declared the winner by four rounds, no-one could argue with the outcome or the scorecard as the Briton landed twice the shots of his opponent and dominated through most of the action. Most important is that Jefferies got a good amount of rounds under his belt tonight, six rounds proved no problem athletically and as long as he continues to improve he has a bright future beyond the domestic scene.
Ultimately the night belongs to Jason Booth, with this win he finds himself riding a great wave of success, having hammered the previous boss at Super Bantamweight in Hunter; he can now look forward to bigger and better fights. At 31 he needs to take the opportunities whenever they come along just as he has done tonight.
Booth’s good friend and holder of the Commonwealth title at Super Bantamweight - Rendall Munroe - was the first to congratulate him on his victory. A fight between the two of them would guarantee fireworks but as promoter of both men Frank Maloney pointed out, Munroe will be fighting for the European title next. If Munroe is successful, Booth will be first in line for the Commonwealth belt. Maloney joked that when both had World title belts they could fight a unification match. Whilst that might be fanciful, both men have proved recently that they have the mettle to mix it above and beyond the domestic class they have been operating in.
Right now the future is looking very bright for Jason Booth; we eagerly wait to see just how far he can go in the twilight of his career.