Jason Booth
Encyclopedia
Jason Booth is a British professional boxer
who has competed in the flyweight
, super flyweight
, bantamweight
and super bantamweight
divisions. He is the current holder of the British and Commonwealth super bantamweight championships. He is also the brother of the former British and Commonwealth bantamweight champion, Nicky Booth.
Booth began his professional career in 2006 and won the British and Commonwealth flyweight titles beating Keith Knox in 1999. He won the IBO Super Flyweight championship in 2003 beating South Africa's Lunga Ntontela and fought for the European title on four occasions losing each time in 1999, 2001, 2002 and 2011. Following the loss of his IBO title to Northern Irelands Damaen Kelly
in 2004 Booth spent almost two years away from the ring as he struggled to come to terms with an addiction to alcohol.
Returning in 2006 Booth moved up to bantamweight and won the Commonwealth bantamweight title against Wales Matthew Edmonds. After two successful defences he moved up to super bantamweight and, in 2009, won the British title beating Mark Moran. He defended the title on four occasions, also winning the Commonwealth version of the super bantamweight title first against Matthew Marsh
and then regaining the belt after giving it up against Jamie Arthur
.
Booth fought for the IBF World super bantamweight title in September 2011, losing on points to Canadian champion Steve Molitor
and last fought the Spaniard Kiko Martinez
in a fourth attempt to at winning the European title.
. By March 1998 he had compiled an unbeaten record of 10-0 and had earned an eliminating fight for the British flyweight title against Louis Veitch, it was a fight he won by knocking out Veitch in the second round. Three more fights and three more wins followed including another victory over Veitch and a win over the unbeaten Bulgarian Dimitar Alipiev before the opportunity arose to fight for the European flyweight title
. Booth was now 14-0 and travelled to France
to take on reigning champion David Guerault himself only 15-0. It proved to be Booths first defeat as the champion won a 12 round decision.
before getting a fight with the current holder of the British and Commonwealth flyweight titles Keith Knox. The fight due to take place in Belfast
on 16 October 1999 would have both titles on the line with Booth eventually winning in the 10th round. The new champion defended his Commonwealth title first when in January 2000 he beat South African
Abbey Mnisi. In November 2000 he put both titles on the line when defending against 8-0 prospect Ian Napa
eventually winning a 12 round unanimous decision. In February 2001, he made the second defence of his Commonwealth belt knocking out Zimbabwain
, Nogthula Tshabangu at the Harvey Hadden Leisure Centre in Nottingham
. Booth's brother, Nicky, was also on the bill and defeated Adey Lewis with a seventh round stoppage to crown a good night for the brothers and a unique one in British boxing history in that it was the first time that two siblings had defended titles on the same night.
. Booth's second career defeat once again came when challenging for European honours losing the bout again on points over 12 rounds. Booth was hoping to make it third time lucky when in June 2001 he challenged once again for the title. Mahmutov had vacated and the vacant title was up for grabs with Booth travelling back to France
to face Mimoun Chent. The dream was not to be realised however when the fight was stopped in the seventh round due to a series of nasty cuts around the Frenchmans eyes, Booth ended up losing on a technical decision.
Two more non-title fights back in the United Kingdom
saw Booth get back to winning ways with two more wins before, in September 2003, re-entering the championship frame. The title on the line was the IBO super flyweight crown held by South African
Lunga Ntontela. The fight saw Booth put down in the seventh round but still ended with a win for the British man after claiming a split decision victory. A defence in March 2004 saw him beat Huddersfield
based Dale Robinson before losing the title in December 2004 to Northern Ireland's
Damaen Kelly
himself a former European champion.
, Booth had spent the money on a combination of drink and drugs with the money disappearing within six weeks. Speaking about his addiction, Booth said that drink had always been a part of family life but the suicide
of his sister Deana had hit him particularly hard. Booth said, "It was too young to die. She was a funloving girl. I don’t know why she did it. She got run over when she was young. She’d had a tragic time. It mentally disturbed me." Two weeks later, following the tragedy, Booth fought and beat the Bulgarian boxer Dimitar Alipiev whilst drunk, saying, "I wanted to fight because I didn’t know what to do with myself after Deana died. I was drinking on the day of the fight. I was numb. I was in no pain. I just didn’t care. It was the only time in my life I didn’t care." It was Booth's 12th professional contest. Booth said that he also fell into bad company: "I was in parks and dosshouses. I was British champion but walking around with drunks and thinking they were mates. I’d get up, drink cider and top up during the day. Sometimes, I’d get a bottle of cheap vodka and walk around with it in my pocket." Eventually Booth checked into an alcohol clinic and begun the process of getting clean: "It frightened me and I wanted to stop, but it was only when my body rejected the drink that I found the courage. My stomach packed in. I was sicking blood every morning." He began training once more with trainer Tony Harris and began to rebuild his boxing career despite occasionally relapsing into drink. Eventually he gave up drinking altogether, saying, "I’m one of those who has to be abstinent, because one drink isn’t going to do anything for me except start it all again."
in 2011, told Sky Sports boxing magazine program 'Ringside' said that he wished Nicky would have been able to make a return to the ring saying that "he tried and he's still trying now" but that "some demons are harder to shake off than others."
almost two years since his defeat to Kelly. He followed this up in February 2007 with a win against Jamil Hussain and then on 6 July 2007 stepped into the ring with former opponent Ian Napa
to challenge for the British bantamweight title. The fight at the Robin Park Centre in Wigan
saw Napa gain revenge for his defeat in 2000 with a 12 round points victory. The same venue would prove to be the location for his next fight as Booth returned on 8 December 2007 to defeat Welsh prospect Matthew Edmonds for the Commonwealth title. The win over Edmonds meant that Jason Booth could now claim to be a two weight Commonwealth champion. He defended his new title on 7 March 2008, against Ghana's Lante Addy, and won a non title bout against Dai Davies in June 2008. He made a second defence on 18 December 2008 with Dublin being the location for a challenge from Pontefract based fighter Sean Hughes
. Booth won the fight in the 10th round following a corner retirement from Hughes. After the fight with Hughes, Booth said that he "didn't realise how well I boxed" and would now like a rematch with Ian Napa
as they had "unfinished business."
for the British super flyweight title before Haskins pulled out with a hand injury. Moran was originally scheduled to fight Matthew Marsh for the super bantamweight title before Marsh pulled out citing difficulties in making the weight. Booth won the fight when a clash of heads forced the fight to be stopped on cuts in the sixth round although he had been dominating the fight prior to the stoppage. The victory meant that Booth had become a two weight British champion having also won the flyweight title in 1999. On 30 June 2009 Booth made the first defence of his new title against Thetford fighter Rocky Dean
winning a unanimous points decision. Promoter Frank Maloney
said after the fight that he would try to get Booth a world title fight in the near future.
Booths second defence of the title took place in Sunderland and saw him headline the bill against Hartlepool
fighter Micheal Hunter
, a former holder of the belt and European champion at the weight. Booth was able to dominate the fight from the bell and Hunter made the decision not to come out for the 5th round handing victory to the champion. Booth's third defence of the title was against another former champion in Matthew Marsh. Marsh had vacated the title with the intention of taking a break from the sport and upon his return had won two contests. For Booth, a win over Marsh would mean the Lonsdale belt
would be his for keeps after making three successful defences. The fight, in Nottingham on 5 February 2010, resulted in a stoppage decision for Booth when the fight was called off in the 11th round following a severe gash to Marsh's eye. The win not only meant the Lonsdale belt but also the vacant Commonwealth title, which was also on the line, would be held by Booth meaning that Booth had now won the Commonwealth title at three different weights.
shot against Canadian
Steve Molitor, a two-time holder of the title. Molitor had initially won the title for the first time with a win over former Booth opponent Michael Hunter
on 10 November 2006 defending five times before losing Celestino Caballero
in Ontario
on 21 November 2008. He regained the title on 27 March 2010 beating South African Takalani Ndlovu
and the fight with Booth due to take place in the North of England would be his first defence. Molitor had also held the Commonwealth bantamweight title earlier in his career, defeating Jason's brother Nicky Booth on 21 November 2002 to lift the belt meaning that Moiltor would have eventually fought both brothers. Speaking about his career to date when announcing the fight, Booth paid tribute to the sport and reflected on how his life might have turned out: "If I hadn't had boxing, I'd be dead, the drink would have beaten me. I've got my kids now, they're my focus and I think I've just grown up". In the end, on 11 September 2010 in Sunderland, Booth lost a majority decision to the Canadian with two judges scoring 116-113 and 116-112 to Molitor with the third scoring the fight a draw at 114-114. After the fight Booth stated that his new ambition was to win the European title after coming up short on three occasions so far in his career saying that he would relish a shot at the new champion Kiko Martinez.
, had won the vacant belt beating Kris Hughes after Booth had given it up in order to fight for the World title. The fight, at the Brentwood Leisure Centre, resulted in a split decision win with both fighters suffering cuts during the fight. Speaking after the fight, Booth's manager Jimmy Gill said that the fight had only been arranged with three weeks' notice and said that Jason had only just come back from holiday and so had little time to prepare. Gill said, "Jason is 34 in November and small guys like him don't normally last that long. They burn out". He added that he would never allow Booth to take a fight at such short notice again, saying, "That was a favour to promoter Frank Maloney...It was a big ask but he pulled it off...But it was a one-off, I'll never do it again." Of the fight, Booth paid tribute to Arthur, saying, "That was the hardest fight I've had yet...I had to show heart because I was getting out-foxed by a clever champ. For saying we had three weeks' notice, we put on a good show." Following the fight, it was confirmed that Booth would challenge Spain's Kiko Martinez
for the European super bantamweight title, the fourth time Booth would have fought for a variation of the European belt. The fight against Martinez was eventually confirmed for Spain and took place on 15 April 2011 in front of a sell out 30,000 crowd in the city of Madrid
. Martinez, a former two time European champion, won the fight in front of his home fans when in the tenth round a left hook was catalyst for the referee to call off the fight early, the first time Booth had been stopped in his career to date.
Boxing
Boxing, also called pugilism, is a combat sport in which two people fight each other using their fists. Boxing is supervised by a referee over a series of between one to three minute intervals called rounds...
who has competed in the flyweight
Flyweight
Flyweight is a class in boxing which includes fighters weighing less than 112 lb but above 108 lb .-Professional boxing:...
, super flyweight
Super flyweight
Super flyweight is a weight division in professional boxing. It is alternatively referred to as junior bantamweight and light bantamweight...
, bantamweight
Bantamweight
Bantamweight is usually a class in boxing for boxers who weigh above 115 pounds and up to 118 pounds . However, in Mixed Martial Arts it is 134-136 pounds . Wrestling also has similar weight classes including bantamweight...
and super bantamweight
Super Bantamweight
Super bantamweight is a weight division in professional boxing. The maximum weight for this division is 122 pounds, or roughly 55.34 kilograms....
divisions. He is the current holder of the British and Commonwealth super bantamweight championships. He is also the brother of the former British and Commonwealth bantamweight champion, Nicky Booth.
Booth began his professional career in 2006 and won the British and Commonwealth flyweight titles beating Keith Knox in 1999. He won the IBO Super Flyweight championship in 2003 beating South Africa's Lunga Ntontela and fought for the European title on four occasions losing each time in 1999, 2001, 2002 and 2011. Following the loss of his IBO title to Northern Irelands Damaen Kelly
Damaen Kelly
Damaen Kelly is a former professional boxer from Belfast, Northern Ireland, who represented the Republic of Ireland at international level. Kelly fought his final professional fights in the Bantamweight division but was more noted for boxing in the Flyweight division...
in 2004 Booth spent almost two years away from the ring as he struggled to come to terms with an addiction to alcohol.
Returning in 2006 Booth moved up to bantamweight and won the Commonwealth bantamweight title against Wales Matthew Edmonds. After two successful defences he moved up to super bantamweight and, in 2009, won the British title beating Mark Moran. He defended the title on four occasions, also winning the Commonwealth version of the super bantamweight title first against Matthew Marsh
Matthew Marsh (boxer)
Matthew Marsh is a British professional boxer who competes in the Super bantamweight division. He is a former two time ABA champion at Flyweight and Bantamweight and a former British super bantamweight champion.-Early career:...
and then regaining the belt after giving it up against Jamie Arthur
Jamie Arthur
Jamie Arthur is a boxer from Cwmbran, Wales, who won the gold medal in the men's lightweight division at the 2002 Commonwealth Games in Manchester, United Kingdom. Arthur turned professional in 2003, and since then has had some limited success, winning the Welsh super featherweight title in 2008...
.
Booth fought for the IBF World super bantamweight title in September 2011, losing on points to Canadian champion Steve Molitor
Steve Molitor
Steve Molitor is a Canadian professional boxer. He is the former International Boxing Federation Junior featherweight champion. He has a record of 33–2 .- Career history :...
and last fought the Spaniard Kiko Martinez
Kiko Martinez
Francisco Martinez Sanchez more commonly known as Kiko Martinez is a professional boxer from Alicante, Spain, who fights in the super bantamweight division. From April 15, 2011, he is the current EBU Super bantamweight champion .-Amateur career:Martinez fought extensively as an amateur...
in a fourth attempt to at winning the European title.
Flyweight and Super Flyweight
Booth started his professional career in June 1996 with a third round win over Darren Noble at the Pinegrove Country Club in SheffieldSheffield
Sheffield is a city and metropolitan borough of South Yorkshire, England. Its name derives from the River Sheaf, which runs through the city. Historically a part of the West Riding of Yorkshire, and with some of its southern suburbs annexed from Derbyshire, the city has grown from its largely...
. By March 1998 he had compiled an unbeaten record of 10-0 and had earned an eliminating fight for the British flyweight title against Louis Veitch, it was a fight he won by knocking out Veitch in the second round. Three more fights and three more wins followed including another victory over Veitch and a win over the unbeaten Bulgarian Dimitar Alipiev before the opportunity arose to fight for the European flyweight title
European Boxing Union
The European Boxing Union is an organization that oversees competition in that sport over the continent of Europe.-History:The EBU started life as the International Boxing Union in Paris in 1910...
. Booth was now 14-0 and travelled to France
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
to take on reigning champion David Guerault himself only 15-0. It proved to be Booths first defeat as the champion won a 12 round decision.
British and Commonwealth champion
Booth followed up his first career defeat with victory back at home beating Mark Reynolds in CoventryCoventry
Coventry is a city and metropolitan borough in the county of West Midlands in England. Coventry is the 9th largest city in England and the 11th largest in the United Kingdom. It is also the second largest city in the English Midlands, after Birmingham, with a population of 300,848, although...
before getting a fight with the current holder of the British and Commonwealth flyweight titles Keith Knox. The fight due to take place in Belfast
Belfast
Belfast is the capital of and largest city in Northern Ireland. By population, it is the 14th biggest city in the United Kingdom and second biggest on the island of Ireland . It is the seat of the devolved government and legislative Northern Ireland Assembly...
on 16 October 1999 would have both titles on the line with Booth eventually winning in the 10th round. The new champion defended his Commonwealth title first when in January 2000 he beat South African
South Africa
The Republic of South Africa is a country in southern Africa. Located at the southern tip of Africa, it is divided into nine provinces, with of coastline on the Atlantic and Indian oceans...
Abbey Mnisi. In November 2000 he put both titles on the line when defending against 8-0 prospect Ian Napa
Ian Napa
Ian Napa is a British boxer originally from Zimbabwe but now living in London. He is the former European bantamweight champion and is a former two time holder of the British bantamweight title.-Early professional career:...
eventually winning a 12 round unanimous decision. In February 2001, he made the second defence of his Commonwealth belt knocking out Zimbabwain
Zimbabwe
Zimbabwe is a landlocked country located in the southern part of the African continent, between the Zambezi and Limpopo rivers. It is bordered by South Africa to the south, Botswana to the southwest, Zambia and a tip of Namibia to the northwest and Mozambique to the east. Zimbabwe has three...
, Nogthula Tshabangu at the Harvey Hadden Leisure Centre in Nottingham
Nottingham
Nottingham is a city and unitary authority in the East Midlands of England. It is located in the ceremonial county of Nottinghamshire and represents one of eight members of the English Core Cities Group...
. Booth's brother, Nicky, was also on the bill and defeated Adey Lewis with a seventh round stoppage to crown a good night for the brothers and a unique one in British boxing history in that it was the first time that two siblings had defended titles on the same night.
European and World challenges
His next fight saw Booth, who now had a record of 20-1 challenge once again for the European flyweight title. This time the opponent was Russian Alexander Mahmutov and the fight was to be in the Spanish capital MadridMadrid
Madrid is the capital and largest city of Spain. The population of the city is roughly 3.3 million and the entire population of the Madrid metropolitan area is calculated to be 6.271 million. It is the third largest city in the European Union, after London and Berlin, and its metropolitan...
. Booth's second career defeat once again came when challenging for European honours losing the bout again on points over 12 rounds. Booth was hoping to make it third time lucky when in June 2001 he challenged once again for the title. Mahmutov had vacated and the vacant title was up for grabs with Booth travelling back to France
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
to face Mimoun Chent. The dream was not to be realised however when the fight was stopped in the seventh round due to a series of nasty cuts around the Frenchmans eyes, Booth ended up losing on a technical decision.
Two more non-title fights back in the United Kingdom
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
saw Booth get back to winning ways with two more wins before, in September 2003, re-entering the championship frame. The title on the line was the IBO super flyweight crown held by South African
South Africa
The Republic of South Africa is a country in southern Africa. Located at the southern tip of Africa, it is divided into nine provinces, with of coastline on the Atlantic and Indian oceans...
Lunga Ntontela. The fight saw Booth put down in the seventh round but still ended with a win for the British man after claiming a split decision victory. A defence in March 2004 saw him beat Huddersfield
Huddersfield
Huddersfield is a large market town within the Metropolitan Borough of Kirklees, in West Yorkshire, England, situated halfway between Leeds and Manchester. It lies north of London, and south of Bradford, the nearest city....
based Dale Robinson before losing the title in December 2004 to Northern Ireland's
Northern Ireland
Northern Ireland is one of the four countries of the United Kingdom. Situated in the north-east of the island of Ireland, it shares a border with the Republic of Ireland to the south and west...
Damaen Kelly
Damaen Kelly
Damaen Kelly is a former professional boxer from Belfast, Northern Ireland, who represented the Republic of Ireland at international level. Kelly fought his final professional fights in the Bantamweight division but was more noted for boxing in the Flyweight division...
himself a former European champion.
Alcohol addiction
Following the loss of his IBO belt, Booth spent almost two years away from the ring as he struggled with an alcohol addiction. Speaking about the matter in 2010 Booth said "I took time off boxing because I was too drunk...No manager would look at me and all the doors were shut. I'd go on these mad binges and spend loads of money." After earning £10,000 in his fight with Damaen KellyDamaen Kelly
Damaen Kelly is a former professional boxer from Belfast, Northern Ireland, who represented the Republic of Ireland at international level. Kelly fought his final professional fights in the Bantamweight division but was more noted for boxing in the Flyweight division...
, Booth had spent the money on a combination of drink and drugs with the money disappearing within six weeks. Speaking about his addiction, Booth said that drink had always been a part of family life but the suicide
Suicide
Suicide is the act of intentionally causing one's own death. Suicide is often committed out of despair or attributed to some underlying mental disorder, such as depression, bipolar disorder, schizophrenia, alcoholism, or drug abuse...
of his sister Deana had hit him particularly hard. Booth said, "It was too young to die. She was a funloving girl. I don’t know why she did it. She got run over when she was young. She’d had a tragic time. It mentally disturbed me." Two weeks later, following the tragedy, Booth fought and beat the Bulgarian boxer Dimitar Alipiev whilst drunk, saying, "I wanted to fight because I didn’t know what to do with myself after Deana died. I was drinking on the day of the fight. I was numb. I was in no pain. I just didn’t care. It was the only time in my life I didn’t care." It was Booth's 12th professional contest. Booth said that he also fell into bad company: "I was in parks and dosshouses. I was British champion but walking around with drunks and thinking they were mates. I’d get up, drink cider and top up during the day. Sometimes, I’d get a bottle of cheap vodka and walk around with it in my pocket." Eventually Booth checked into an alcohol clinic and begun the process of getting clean: "It frightened me and I wanted to stop, but it was only when my body rejected the drink that I found the courage. My stomach packed in. I was sicking blood every morning." He began training once more with trainer Tony Harris and began to rebuild his boxing career despite occasionally relapsing into drink. Eventually he gave up drinking altogether, saying, "I’m one of those who has to be abstinent, because one drink isn’t going to do anything for me except start it all again."
Relationship with brother Nicky Booth
The difficulties with drink and drugs were shared with brother Nicky Booth, himself a former British and Commonwealth champion, who had spent time in prison for burglary and theft. Nicky had won both titles in 2000 after beating Tommy Waite at the Everton Park Sports Centre in Liverpool and having had only 12 previous professional fights. A bantamweight, Nicky Booth made four defences of his Commonwealth title before losing to Steve Molitor in 2002 and four defences of his British title, never losing it in the ring. Booth had also competed for the IBO and WBU bantamweight titles with his last fight on 20 September 2003 being a loss to Nathan Sting for the latter belt. Nicky Booth's addiction to drugs had led him, whilst British champion, to his arrest. Booth admitted carrying out a burglary and two thefts in November and December 2003 and was sentenced to two years in prison. Jason Booth reflecting in 2010 on the time when both brothers were having difficulties said "It was bad for both of us...I managed to get back in the gym; the boxing saved me, it's that simple. Nicky is still trying." Nicky began training with Jason in 2008 in an attempt to make a comeback and in the hope that the British Boxing Board of Control would issue him a license. Speaking at the time Nicky Booth said that his last appearance in the ring, the defeat to Nathan Sting, still hurt him saying "I didn't want to fight him, I shouldn't have been in the ring that night...I wanted to pull out, but they said they would have to cancel the show if I did. I had no choice." Booth said of the fight that he had only trained for three days and was coming off alcohol and drugs adding "After round three I had nothing left. My legs had gone; everything had gone. That wasn't me fighting in there." The comeback never happened and Jason, speaking prior to his fight with Jamie ArthurJamie Arthur
Jamie Arthur is a boxer from Cwmbran, Wales, who won the gold medal in the men's lightweight division at the 2002 Commonwealth Games in Manchester, United Kingdom. Arthur turned professional in 2003, and since then has had some limited success, winning the Welsh super featherweight title in 2008...
in 2011, told Sky Sports boxing magazine program 'Ringside' said that he wished Nicky would have been able to make a return to the ring saying that "he tried and he's still trying now" but that "some demons are harder to shake off than others."
Commonwealth champion
Booth made his comeback on 3 November 2006 moving up to bantamweight with a win over journeyman Abdul Mghrbel at the Barnsley MetrodomeBarnsley Metrodome
The Barnsley Metrodome is one of the UK's premier sports facilities. It is located along Queens Road, Barnsley, South Yorkshire, in England...
almost two years since his defeat to Kelly. He followed this up in February 2007 with a win against Jamil Hussain and then on 6 July 2007 stepped into the ring with former opponent Ian Napa
Ian Napa
Ian Napa is a British boxer originally from Zimbabwe but now living in London. He is the former European bantamweight champion and is a former two time holder of the British bantamweight title.-Early professional career:...
to challenge for the British bantamweight title. The fight at the Robin Park Centre in Wigan
Wigan
Wigan is a town in Greater Manchester, England. It stands on the River Douglas, south-west of Bolton, north of Warrington and west-northwest of Manchester. Wigan is the largest settlement in the Metropolitan Borough of Wigan and is its administrative centre. The town of Wigan had a total...
saw Napa gain revenge for his defeat in 2000 with a 12 round points victory. The same venue would prove to be the location for his next fight as Booth returned on 8 December 2007 to defeat Welsh prospect Matthew Edmonds for the Commonwealth title. The win over Edmonds meant that Jason Booth could now claim to be a two weight Commonwealth champion. He defended his new title on 7 March 2008, against Ghana's Lante Addy, and won a non title bout against Dai Davies in June 2008. He made a second defence on 18 December 2008 with Dublin being the location for a challenge from Pontefract based fighter Sean Hughes
Sean Hughes
Sean Hughes may refer to:* Sean Hughes * Sean Hughes , alleged IRA member* Sean Hughes , British Labour Party Member of Parliament 1983–1990* Sean Hughes of Green Day...
. Booth won the fight in the 10th round following a corner retirement from Hughes. After the fight with Hughes, Booth said that he "didn't realise how well I boxed" and would now like a rematch with Ian Napa
Ian Napa
Ian Napa is a British boxer originally from Zimbabwe but now living in London. He is the former European bantamweight champion and is a former two time holder of the British bantamweight title.-Early professional career:...
as they had "unfinished business."
Two weight British champion
On 17 April 2009, Booth won the vacant British super-bantamweight title with a victory over English champion Mark Moran. Booth had been meant to fight Lee HaskinsLee Haskins
Lee Haskins is a British professional boxer from Bristol in England who has fought in the Flyweight, Super Flyweight and Bantamweight divisions...
for the British super flyweight title before Haskins pulled out with a hand injury. Moran was originally scheduled to fight Matthew Marsh for the super bantamweight title before Marsh pulled out citing difficulties in making the weight. Booth won the fight when a clash of heads forced the fight to be stopped on cuts in the sixth round although he had been dominating the fight prior to the stoppage. The victory meant that Booth had become a two weight British champion having also won the flyweight title in 1999. On 30 June 2009 Booth made the first defence of his new title against Thetford fighter Rocky Dean
Rocky Dean
Rocky Dean is a British professional boxer from Thetford in Norfolk, England. He is a former Southern Area champion at Featherweight and has twice competed for the full British title at Super Bantamweight.-Early Professional Career:...
winning a unanimous points decision. Promoter Frank Maloney
Frank Maloney
Frank Maloney is a boxing manager and promoter and United Kingdom Independence Party politician. He is most famous for managing Lennox Lewis to the Undisputed Heavyweight Championship of the World.-Early life:...
said after the fight that he would try to get Booth a world title fight in the near future.
Booths second defence of the title took place in Sunderland and saw him headline the bill against Hartlepool
Hartlepool
Hartlepool is a town and port in North East England.It was founded in the 7th century AD, around the Northumbrian monastery of Hartlepool Abbey. The village grew during the Middle Ages and developed a harbour which served as the official port of the County Palatine of Durham. A railway link from...
fighter Micheal Hunter
Michael Hunter (boxer)
Michael Hunter is a Super Bantamweight boxer from Hartlepool, North East England. He is currently British Champion and European champion at the weight....
, a former holder of the belt and European champion at the weight. Booth was able to dominate the fight from the bell and Hunter made the decision not to come out for the 5th round handing victory to the champion. Booth's third defence of the title was against another former champion in Matthew Marsh. Marsh had vacated the title with the intention of taking a break from the sport and upon his return had won two contests. For Booth, a win over Marsh would mean the Lonsdale belt
Lonsdale belt
The Lonsdale Belt was a boxing prize introduced by Hugh Lowther, 5th Earl of Lonsdale, to be awarded to British boxing champions. It is still awarded to British champions today.-National Sporting Club:...
would be his for keeps after making three successful defences. The fight, in Nottingham on 5 February 2010, resulted in a stoppage decision for Booth when the fight was called off in the 11th round following a severe gash to Marsh's eye. The win not only meant the Lonsdale belt but also the vacant Commonwealth title, which was also on the line, would be held by Booth meaning that Booth had now won the Commonwealth title at three different weights.
IBF World title attempt
Following his success in the ring, Booth managed to secure an IBF World titleInternational Boxing Federation
The International Boxing Federation or IBF is one of four major organizations recognized by IBHOF which sanction world championship boxing bouts, alongside the WBA, WBC and WBO.- History :...
shot against Canadian
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
Steve Molitor, a two-time holder of the title. Molitor had initially won the title for the first time with a win over former Booth opponent Michael Hunter
Michael Hunter (boxer)
Michael Hunter is a Super Bantamweight boxer from Hartlepool, North East England. He is currently British Champion and European champion at the weight....
on 10 November 2006 defending five times before losing Celestino Caballero
Celestino Caballero
Celestino "Pelenchin" Caballero is a professional boxer from Panama. He is the former undisputed Super Bantamweight WBA & IBF and Super Champion for the WBA. On October 14th, 2011, Celestino became the new WBA Featherweight champion of the world after beating Jonathan Barros at Luna Park, Argentina...
in Ontario
Ontario
Ontario is a province of Canada, located in east-central Canada. It is Canada's most populous province and second largest in total area. It is home to the nation's most populous city, Toronto, and the nation's capital, Ottawa....
on 21 November 2008. He regained the title on 27 March 2010 beating South African Takalani Ndlovu
Takalani Ndlovu
Takalani Ndlovu , is a South African professional boxer with orthodox stance who goes by the nickname of "Panther". His professional record includes 38 fights: 32 wins , and 6 losses...
and the fight with Booth due to take place in the North of England would be his first defence. Molitor had also held the Commonwealth bantamweight title earlier in his career, defeating Jason's brother Nicky Booth on 21 November 2002 to lift the belt meaning that Moiltor would have eventually fought both brothers. Speaking about his career to date when announcing the fight, Booth paid tribute to the sport and reflected on how his life might have turned out: "If I hadn't had boxing, I'd be dead, the drink would have beaten me. I've got my kids now, they're my focus and I think I've just grown up". In the end, on 11 September 2010 in Sunderland, Booth lost a majority decision to the Canadian with two judges scoring 116-113 and 116-112 to Molitor with the third scoring the fight a draw at 114-114. After the fight Booth stated that his new ambition was to win the European title after coming up short on three occasions so far in his career saying that he would relish a shot at the new champion Kiko Martinez.
Unification and European title fights
On 5 February 2011 Booth retained his British title for the fourth time and retained his old Commonwealth title. His opponent, Jamie ArthurJamie Arthur
Jamie Arthur is a boxer from Cwmbran, Wales, who won the gold medal in the men's lightweight division at the 2002 Commonwealth Games in Manchester, United Kingdom. Arthur turned professional in 2003, and since then has had some limited success, winning the Welsh super featherweight title in 2008...
, had won the vacant belt beating Kris Hughes after Booth had given it up in order to fight for the World title. The fight, at the Brentwood Leisure Centre, resulted in a split decision win with both fighters suffering cuts during the fight. Speaking after the fight, Booth's manager Jimmy Gill said that the fight had only been arranged with three weeks' notice and said that Jason had only just come back from holiday and so had little time to prepare. Gill said, "Jason is 34 in November and small guys like him don't normally last that long. They burn out". He added that he would never allow Booth to take a fight at such short notice again, saying, "That was a favour to promoter Frank Maloney...It was a big ask but he pulled it off...But it was a one-off, I'll never do it again." Of the fight, Booth paid tribute to Arthur, saying, "That was the hardest fight I've had yet...I had to show heart because I was getting out-foxed by a clever champ. For saying we had three weeks' notice, we put on a good show." Following the fight, it was confirmed that Booth would challenge Spain's Kiko Martinez
Kiko Martinez
Francisco Martinez Sanchez more commonly known as Kiko Martinez is a professional boxer from Alicante, Spain, who fights in the super bantamweight division. From April 15, 2011, he is the current EBU Super bantamweight champion .-Amateur career:Martinez fought extensively as an amateur...
for the European super bantamweight title, the fourth time Booth would have fought for a variation of the European belt. The fight against Martinez was eventually confirmed for Spain and took place on 15 April 2011 in front of a sell out 30,000 crowd in the city of Madrid
Madrid
Madrid is the capital and largest city of Spain. The population of the city is roughly 3.3 million and the entire population of the Madrid metropolitan area is calculated to be 6.271 million. It is the third largest city in the European Union, after London and Berlin, and its metropolitan...
. Martinez, a former two time European champion, won the fight in front of his home fans when in the tenth round a left hook was catalyst for the referee to call off the fight early, the first time Booth had been stopped in his career to date.