Jason Booth says he feels as sharp as he ever has ahead of his make-or-break 12-rounder in Rotherham this weekend.
The smooth-boxing Nottingham stylist crosses swords with unbeaten Kid Galahad for the vacant WBC International super-bantamweight title on a Hennessy Sports-promoted, Channel 5-televised bill on Saturday [February 18] with many in the trade predicting a painful career-ending beating for the former two-weight British and three-weight Commonwealth boss.
But Booth says his Ingle-trained opponent, likened to a young Naseem Hamed without the crippling one-punch power, is untested over the championship distance and will be taken into the type of waters that young prospects can so easily drown in.
Yet 2011 was a desperate 12 months for the Tony Harris-trained East Midlander, who began the year by retaining his Commonwealth belt against Jamie Arthur but then suffered a brace of stoppage defeats to Kiko Martinez [European title, Spain] and Scott Quigg [surrendering his Lonsdale Belt].
By comparison, albeit at a lower level, the sharp-hitting 21-year-old from Sheffield chalked five wins onto his unbeaten ten-fight ledger [four inside] last year, including back-to-back stoppages over former top-rated Irish amateur Paul Griffin [in one] and normally-sturdy James Ancliff [in four].
A possible indication that Galahad [real name Barry Awad] has the type of power to put men away when they come to fight? Maybe. But durable former IBF world title challenger Booth has the footwork, defence and nous gathered over his 44-bout [36 wins, 15 early] paid career to keep himself out of trouble.
But does he still have what it takes to snap the unblemished record of a man who's 13 years his junior and who was only six when Jason made his pro bow? The veteran co-challenger certainly thinks so. "I think the little break I've had has done me the power of good," admitted the 34-year-old from the Strelley area of the Robin Hood city. "I feel fresh and ready to win another belt.
"I had a tough year, what with the defeats to Martinez and then losing my British title. I was doing well in Spain against Martinez but I've got to say Quigg was a little too big for me and was seasoned as well, having done 12 on a couple of occasions.
"And though this lad i'm fighting on Saturday is highly-rated and I've heard he's like a young Naz, he has only done six rounds on two occasions and this is a big step up in class," reasoned Booth, who's been involved in 22 scheduled 36-minute bouts - completing ten of them.
"I know what i can do and i feel sharper than ever," he added.
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