Scott Quigg produced a superb display to take Jason Booth's British super bantamweight title in convincing style at the Reebok Arena.
Veteran retires at the end of the seventh after one-sided contest
Scott Quigg produced a superb display to take Jason Booth's British super bantamweight title in convincing style at the Reebok Arena on Saturday night.
The unbeaten Quigg made Booth look every one of his 34 years as he dominated from the off and it was the champion himself who ultimately decided to call time on the fight at the end of the seventh round.
Sharper and quicker from the first bell, Quigg looked physically bigger and stronger than an opponent who had no answer to his heavier blows, especially to the body.
On the front foot and taking the middle of the ring throughout, Quigg hunted down his man relentlessly with his punches carrying far greater snap.
Having bossed the early rounds, the 22-year-old from Bury stepped up the pace in the sixth as he caught Booth with a series of hurtful upper cuts.
Already cutting a forlorn figure and in survival mode by that stage, Booth took further punishment in a one-sided seventh and, with promoter Frank Maloney and his corner looking primed to pull him out anyway, opted to retire having made his way back to his stool.
Big future
A delighted Quigg was full of respect for Booth after the fight, telling
Sky Sports: "To win this British title means a hell of a lot, and to beat Jason and share the ring with such a great fighter makes it even more worthwhile.
"To control the fight against Jason from the off shows that I'm improving again."
For his part, Booth was quick to take his hat off to Quigg after his clinical display, saying: "I could have carried on a bit more, I wasn't finished, but there was no chance. He was breaking me down with some nice boxing and he was in control all the time."
Booth also predicted a big future for Quigg, stating: "This kid's going to go far. He's really amazing to say how many fights he's had, he was faultless really."
However, the Nottingham veteran insisted the defeat did not signal the end of his career, adding: "I've had a great career and I've been fighting forever, but I'll concentrate on training and we might step down a weight."
Earlier in the night, Welshman Kerry Hope gave his career a huge shot in the arm as he claimed a deserved majority points decision over Southampton's Tony Hill in their British middleweight title eliminator.
