Sky Sports Friday Fight Night comes from Nottingham this evening as Jason Booth defends his British title against the challenge of former champion Mathew Marsh, live from 10pm.
32 year old super-bantamweight Booth has become somewhat of a regular feature in the sport since making his debut way back in 1996. The popular fighter nicknamed `2 Smooth` went on to carve out an illustrious thirty-nine fight career over the past fourteen years, producing some of the most memorable nights seen in a British boxing ring.
The 5ft 4inch orthodox from Nottingham hasn’t always had it his own way however, suffering defeat when stepping up in grade to face the best little men Europe had to offer in David Guerault, Alexander Makhmutov and Damaen Kelly.
Booth has shifted through the weight divisions over the last few years, resulting in mixed fortunes as he went in search of his ideal category, but following a points defeat at the hands of Hackney’s Ian Napa back in 2007, he put on the required weight needed to compete in the super-bantamweight division and has remained undefeated since.
A run of seven straight victories saw the champion both capture and defend the Lonsdale strap, with an impressive fifth round stoppage victory over Michael Hunter in his last bringing Booths record to 34 wins, 14 inside the distance against 5 defeats.
There is simply no question of how bookmakers see this one going, with Skybet offering the best price available of 1/7.
Former champion Mathew Marsh feels that he has a point to prove after being stripped of this title outside of the ring and the Johnny Eames trained fighter leads a large support north, full of confidence.
The West Ham based 27 year old has himself struggled with weight issues, having lost an English title on the scales. Marsh still believes that he is the rightful owner of the championship belt however and will do everything in his power to wrestle it back, making for an interesting evening of action.
Despite having lost just once during a fourteen fight career, odds compilers believe that the Londoner will be making a wasted journey and offer the 5ft 6inch challenger at a market best price of 67/13 (BWin).
Jason Booth has been enjoying the best form of his life over the last few years and the weight division seems to suit his energetic style down to the ground. Being a former featherweight, it is no secret that Marsh struggles to shed those last few pounds and despite a two inch height advantage, I see the champion out working the younger man in front of him to take this one on points at an appealing even money (Sportingbet).
Mathew Marsh has stopped only one opponent throughout a six year career, journeyman Ajibu Salum, so his punch power shouldn’t affect the outcome and considering Booth has never been stopped, the 1/2 (Skybet) about over 9.5 rounds looks like the safest bet of the evening.
