Galahad dominates Booth the Brave

The long and distinguished career of Jason Booth could have come to an end a few miles up the road from where he made his pro debut 16 years ago.

The Nottingham super-bantamweight conceded a unanimous 12-round decision to unbeaten Kid Galahad, on a Hennessy Sports-promoted, Channel 5-televised bill at Rotherham's Magna Centre on Saturday night [February 18], meaning he's now lost his last three and four of his previous five [all in title fights].

But though he was dominated by a younger, nimble-footed South Yorkshireman who'd been likened to a young Naseem Hamed in the build up to their vacant WBC International super-bantamweight title scrap, Booth showed early on that he wasn't as spent as the Ingles and Mick Hennessy had probably gambled on.

The former two-weight British and three-weight Commonwealth boss, who won his first British title when his opponent was only nine, sensationally made Galahad touch down with a counter left in the dying embers of the opening round and inspired hope into the sizeable following who'd traveled from the Robin Hood city hoping for the clock to be turned back one more time.

Yet there were to be no more highs and the judges scorecards - 118-111 for John Keane [which matched my tally], 118-110 for Victor Loughlin and a baffling 120-109 from Ian John-Lewis, meaning he gave the first round, in which Galahad was given a count, 10-10 - reflected the nature of the fight, if not the heart and bravery Booth showed.

The opener seemed to be about level until Jason [8st 8lbs 14oz] uncorked that left in his opponent's corner, forcing Galahad's glove to momentarily graze the canvas. Booth's face, however, was reddened by the accurate one-twos from his 21-year-old co-challenger at the end of the second and by the third he was falling short and being tattooed by quick-fisted hooks and straights.

The sharpness and accuracy of the Sheffield fighter, real name Barry Awad, continued to show in the fourth and fifth but a series of solid-looking blows from the Tony Harris-trained, Jimmy Gill-managed veteran former IBF world title challenger in the sixth earned him a share on my card and showed he wasn't anywhere near ready for the taking.

But it was noticeable that the smooth-boxing and combination punching that had become his trademark and had taken him to that world title shot against Steve Molitor in 2010 was absent and replaced by single pot-shot counters with his back to the ropes. But at 34 and with a testing journey, inside and outside of the ropes, that's understandable.

Hard and willing, Booth always smiled and beckoned in the well-supported local when trapped on the ropes - looking to time the incoming man with a counter. Though a few got through and sent sweat flying from Kid's shaven head, rounds seven, eight and nine were Galahad's, who found the usually-smooth and elusive East Midlander's head a fairly easy target.

I thought Jason shared the tenth, nailing the Ingle-tutored stylist with several overhand rights. Galahad [8st 9lbs 10oz], though, came on strong in the last two [remarkable when you consider this was his first time past six and this was Booth's 23rd scheduled 36-minute bout] and was still desperately seeking the stoppage as the bell rang to end the fight.

Despite the impressive-looking scorelines and having the first belt of his career wrapped around his 8st 10lbs waist, Galahad, 11-0 (4), is still not ready to make an assault on the premier fighters in Britain: Rendall Munroe, British champion Scott Quigg and Commonwealth king Carl Frampton. At times he looked smooth, swashbuckling and slick, but did eat plenty plenty of counters when static-footed and on the attack.

Those improvements should come with age and experience but for Booth, now 36-9 (15) and who made his paid bow a few miles down the road in Sheffield in 1996, this could be the end as a top-level performer. But as always, the gracious loser had plenty of praise for the man who'd just beaten him and said: "He reminds me of a younger version of me.

"He's young and sharp and caught me coming in. He can go far and i wish him all the best," added a boxer from the Strelley area of Nottingham, who hinted that training may be his next step when he does decide to hang the gloves up for good.