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Fight is starting at 3pm EST so in 20 minutes.
How do you guys think this fight will go? I got Molitor either by a early KO or a UD.
Fight is starting at 3pm EST so in 20 minutes.
Andrew Harrison previews Saturday night's Super-Bantamweight clash between Steve Molitor and Jason Booth. For more from Andrew, make sure to check out his blog, Safe Side of the Ropes.
Jason Booth is about as far away from the fellow who once scavenged cans from the gutter in order to gulp down discarded beer dregs, as he could ever possibly have hoped of being. Here he stands, a one time alcoholic and ne’er do well, ready to do battle with one of the finest super bantamweight boxers in the world for a (still) much coveted world title. For the holder, Canadian Steve Molitor, it’s a chance to make some money on hunting ground he’s familiar with whilst building toward a unification bout. For Booth, it’s a chance to complete a monumental sporting turnaround.
Molitor, 32-1 (12) holds the IBF super bantamweight title and is rated third at the weight by Ring Magazine. A tidy southpaw, the Canadian is quick, nimble and picks his punches with superior accuracy. This will be his ninth world title fight, with seven wins stacked against just one defeat. The single reverse came against the extremely good Celestino Caballero in 2008, a crushing beat down on home soil which has left some wondering if his best days are behind him.
Star-divide
Booth, 35-5 (15) is a fighter’s fighter and one of the more savvy campaigners of recent vintage to hail from this corner of the globe. A former domestic flyweight champ, the Nottingham man is unbeaten in eight since falling short against the Hackney maestro Ian Napa down at bantamweight. It is a run which has added British and Commonwealth super bantamweight titles to his collection, yet tomorrow evening he’ll be entering into world class for his maiden voyage. Boxing Monthly currently rates him second at the weight domestically (behind his good pal Rendall Munroe).
At 30, Molitor is the younger man by a couple of years and he holds handy advantages in both height and reach. This will be his fourth visit to British shores, a stomping ground he is accustomed to winning on. In only his thirteenth contest he stopped off in Essex to take the Commonwealth bantamweight crown from none other than Booth’s kid brother, Nicky. Less than two years later and he returned again to outpoint Ugandan trial horse John Mackay in Bradford, yet it is his 2006 victory over Hartlepool firebrand Michael Hunter that the majority of British fans will remember him for.
Molitor silenced Hunter’s rabid fans that night with a classy display of speed, movement and shot selection (stopping Michael in the fifth) and he returns to the North East once more, this time to the Rainton Meadows Arena in Houghton-le-Spring for what he hopes will be an equally bountiful evening’s work.
Booth too holds an impressive victory over Hunter from October of last year, retiring the former European champion on his stool after a five round assault which featured crafty body attacks and fluid combination punching. It will be interesting to see who can lure the other into leading off and indeed, reports indicate that Booth may try a bit of sledging in order to rile "The Canadian Kid" and throw him off his imperious stride. For whilst Booth is quite happy to go looking for an opponent and lead with the jab, he looks much tidier when slipping shots, rattling off combinations and escaping out of range.
I think it’s probable that we’ll see both men attacking each other in spurts in a busy, bustling affair which may result in close sessions which are difficult to score. Molitor’s best work comes from his right hand side and he’ll look to establish a good rhythm before firing home snappy, eye catching shots. Faced with a higher class of opponent than he’s used to seeing (one holding a natural size advantage to boot) Booth may concentrate his attacks downstairs in a bid to sap Molitor’s strength and drag him into a close quarter punch up where he can trade on equal terms.
Quite whether Booth can dredge up the type of inspired effort we witnessed last weekend in Glasgow, when Ricky Burns notched a huge upset victory over Roman Martinez, against a seasoned campaigner such as Molitor is the million dollar question.
Whilst I feel that his technique, whiskers and character mark him as a very live underdog (Molitor is odds on with the bookmakers to retain his belt), Booth looked a tad out of sorts last time out against Matthew Marsh in a performance which suggested that his timing may have finally deserted him. It could be that the hardscrabble years have finally come to bear and it’s on that basis that I fancy Molitor can take home a close but unanimous decision win.
Jason Booth is about as far away from the fellow who once scavenged cans from the gutter in order to gulp down discarded beer dregs, as he could ever possibly have hoped of being. Here he stands, a one time alcoholic and ne’er do well, ready to do battle with one of the finest super bantamweight boxers in the world for a (still) much coveted world title. For the holder, Canadian Steve Molitor, it’s a chance to make some money on hunting ground he’s familiar with whilst building toward a unification bout. For Booth, it’s a chance to complete a monumental sporting turnaround.
Molitor, 32-1 (12) holds the IBF super bantamweight title and is rated third at the weight by Ring Magazine. A tidy southpaw, the Canadian is quick, nimble and picks his punches with superior accuracy. This will be his ninth world title fight, with seven wins stacked against just one defeat. The single reverse came against the extremely good Celestino Caballero in 2008, a crushing beat down on home soil which has left some wondering if his best days are behind him.
Star-divide
Booth, 35-5 (15) is a fighter’s fighter and one of the more savvy campaigners of recent vintage to hail from this corner of the globe. A former domestic flyweight champ, the Nottingham man is unbeaten in eight since falling short against the Hackney maestro Ian Napa down at bantamweight. It is a run which has added British and Commonwealth super bantamweight titles to his collection, yet tomorrow evening he’ll be entering into world class for his maiden voyage. Boxing Monthly currently rates him second at the weight domestically (behind his good pal Rendall Munroe).
At 30, Molitor is the younger man by a couple of years and he holds handy advantages in both height and reach. This will be his fourth visit to British shores, a stomping ground he is accustomed to winning on. In only his thirteenth contest he stopped off in Essex to take the Commonwealth bantamweight crown from none other than Booth’s kid brother, Nicky. Less than two years later and he returned again to outpoint Ugandan trial horse John Mackay in Bradford, yet it is his 2006 victory over Hartlepool firebrand Michael Hunter that the majority of British fans will remember him for.
Molitor silenced Hunter’s rabid fans that night with a classy display of speed, movement and shot selection (stopping Michael in the fifth) and he returns to the North East once more, this time to the Rainton Meadows Arena in Houghton-le-Spring for what he hopes will be an equally bountiful evening’s work.
Booth too holds an impressive victory over Hunter from October of last year, retiring the former European champion on his stool after a five round assault which featured crafty body attacks and fluid combination punching. It will be interesting to see who can lure the other into leading off and indeed, reports indicate that Booth may try a bit of sledging in order to rile "The Canadian Kid" and throw him off his imperious stride. For whilst Booth is quite happy to go looking for an opponent and lead with the jab, he looks much tidier when slipping shots, rattling off combinations and escaping out of range.
I think it’s probable that we’ll see both men attacking each other in spurts in a busy, bustling affair which may result in close sessions which are difficult to score. Molitor’s best work comes from his right hand side and he’ll look to establish a good rhythm before firing home snappy, eye catching shots. Faced with a higher class of opponent than he’s used to seeing (one holding a natural size advantage to boot) Booth may concentrate his attacks downstairs in a bid to sap Molitor’s strength and drag him into a close quarter punch up where he can trade on equal terms.
Quite whether Booth can dredge up the type of inspired effort we witnessed last weekend in Glasgow, when Ricky Burns notched a huge upset victory over Roman Martinez, against a seasoned campaigner such as Molitor is the million dollar question.
Whilst I feel that his technique, whiskers and character mark him as a very live underdog (Molitor is odds on with the bookmakers to retain his belt), Booth looked a tad out of sorts last time out against Matthew Marsh in a performance which suggested that his timing may have finally deserted him. It could be that the hardscrabble years have finally come to bear and it’s on that basis that I fancy Molitor can take home a close but unanimous decision win.
How do you guys think this fight will go? I got Molitor either by a early KO or a UD.
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