Jason Booth vs Kiko Martinez - 11th April...Madrid?!?!

[whiskey]

Martinez is largely promoted and based in Ireland is he not?

[alexpaterson]

I still think Booth can do it, Martinez Is nothing special and if Booth brings his A-Game (Hunter, using the right circles and in and out with combinations) then I think he wins enfatically!!

[bennie]

Nottingham's evergreen Jason Booth showed his usual smooth boxing ability, his combinations, his stamina and his immense grit to outlast and outscore bigger Welshman Jamie Arthur for British and Commonwealth super-bantamweight titles at Brentwood last month, and victory has secured him a shot at the vacant European super-bantamweight title against Spain's Kiko Martinez in Madrid on April 11, a title recently dominated by Leicester man Rendall Munroe.
Munroe, in fact, holds two wins over the hard-hitting Martinez but they came in this country and the thought of tackling Martinez in his own backyard is not a pleasant one for Booth or for anyone for that matter, even Munroe. Martinez can really whack at 24-3 (17) and already this European belt twice, a belt he first won with an 86-second destruction of Irish star Bernard Dunne in Dublin back in 2007, and Dunne went on to win the WBA super-bantamweight title, and then with a comprehensive 12-round decision over rugged Armenian Arsen Martirosyan last year, also in Dublin. In contrast, Booth failed in three attempts to win the European title in his flyweight days - all away from home. After 15 years in the pro ranks and 42 fights (36 wins), Booth has been to the well many, many times, including a gallant effort to wrest the IBF super-bantamweight title from Canadian kid Steve Molitor just last year in Sunderland (lost on points), but the craggy ex-alcoholic needs to dig deep again to overcome the younger, fresher Martinez, and you wonder how much more 33-year-old Jason can find.
Nevertheless, nobody gets an easy ride with Booth in the opposing corner, as Martinez will find out. Neither man has been stopped so we can expect 12 rounds of quality action - the bull versus the matador - but as to the eventual winner, my instincts lean me towards the bull-like Martinez on a worthy if bruising decision.

[freddydoesdallas]

This would be a great fight to go to, shame it's a bit late notice

[Deno1986]

Martinez is largely promoted and based in Ireland is he not?

Yeah, Brian Peters has some contractual ties with the Spaniard but he isn't based over here.

[brian13]

Doesn't matter where the fight is being staged. Booth is still going to beat him well.

[Deno1986]

Doesn't matter where the fight is being staged. Booth is still going to beat him well.

I'm not sure bud. Kiko is after realising his power isn't going to blow everyone away at this level and has developed a decent boxing style. Booth looked poor against Marsh, did well against Molitor and struggled against the awkward Jamie Arthur. In Spain, Kiko walks away with a close decision in my opinion.

[tear up]

jason wont get any favours in spain day light robbery but he knows how to beat anyone even myself michael hunter good luck to the warrior i know

[fatsandman]

I think Jason is amazing but think this will be his retirement fight. For 6 rounds against Jamie Arthur he looked close to washed up. His punches were slow, desperate and mostly off target. He was also leaving himself shockingly easy to hit.

Martinez is a much better fighter than Jamie Arthur and would be favoured to beat him by a large margin if they fought. Jason barely squeaked past Arthur and picked up the win with an almighty effort in the final 6 rounds. For the first six it looked like he was heading towards the first KO defeat of his career.

Martinez is no world beater but may, with hometown advantage, have enough to win it clearly on the cards or maybe by late round stoppage.