Booth stopped by Martinez

Jason Booth suffered the first stoppage defeat of his career in Spain on Friday night.

Veteran fails to hear the final bell for the first time in long career

Jason Booth suffered the first stoppage defeat of his career in Spain on Friday night. The Nottingham southpaw faced Kiko Martinez for the vacant European super-bantamweight title after regaining his British and Commonwealth belts with a hard-fought victory over Jamie Arthur in February. But the 33-year-old struggled against the heavy-handed Spaniard all night and eventually succumbed to a big left hand in the 10th round. Booth regained his feet, but after being caught clean in the fifth and eighth and clearly coming off second best, the referee decided enough was enough. Booth, who lost narrowly to Steve Molitor in his IBF world title shot last year, must now be considering his future in the game after slipping to 36-7. Boxing gave Booth a lifeline when his life spiralled out of control in 2004, when he bravely overcame drink and drug addiction to return better than ever. But it remains to be seen whether he still has the hunger to continue fighting at domestic level.