Commonwealth bantamweight champion Jason Booth faces a tough test to his year old title reign when two-time British super bantam title challenger Sean “Short Fuse” Hughes drops down a division to challenge Booth on Thursday, December 18, 2008 at The Helix on the grounds of City University in Dublin, Ireland.
The pair will face-off in support of European super bantamweight champion Rendall Munroe’s title defense against rugged Italian beltholder Fabrizio Trotta and the pro debut of 2008 Irish Olympic Bronze Medallist Darren Sutherland, who has already been tipped by insiders to ignite a major shakeup in the super middleweight division as his career gathers steam over the next few years.
26 year old Hughes, 15-7-1 (1), is hoping to capitalize on a significant size advantages against Booth. The Yorkshire southpaw stands a full five inches above the Commonwealth champion and has boxed at as high as 137 pounds while Booth turned professional as a flyweight and has only ventured above 120 pounds once, his most recent contest in which he managed a narrow six-round victory against Welsh featherweight Dai Davies.
Hughes has vowed to bring the Commonwealth title back to his hometown of Pontefract and will draw upon his experience in the ring against the likes of Michael Hunter, Steve Foster Jr, Esham Pickering, Billy Corcoran, Bernard Dunne and Marc Callaghan in order to wrest the belt from Booth.
But Booth, 30-5 (11), welcomes the challenge to improve upon a glittering resume that has seen him win the IBO super flyweight and British and Commonwealth flyweight titles as well as mount three very competitive but unsuccessful bids at the European flyweight crown.
The 31 year old from Nottingham is a treasury of slick moves and combination punching but will also need to be in complete control of his superb counterpunching skills if he is to take the confidence away from the hard-nosed Hughes.
Frank Maloney Promotions presents “Out To Conquer The World” headlined by the debut of Irish Olympic Bronze Medallist Darren Sutherland and European Super Bantamweight Champion Rendall Munroe’s title defense against Italian Champion Fabricio Trotta along with full undercard support, on Thursday, December 18, 2008 at The Helix in Dublin, Ireland.
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