Quigg stops Booth, wins British title

Unbeaten junior featherweight Scott Quigg, from Bury, England, provided further evidence of his potential on Saturday as he took the British title from veteran Jason Booth with an impressive seventh-round stoppage.

Quigg (23-0, 16 knockouts) is quick, compact and very powerful - and from the first bell at the Reebok Stadium in Bolton, Lancs, the 23-year-old rising star appeared in a different class.

Booth, now 33 and whose best days arguably came some time ago as a junior bantamweight, had no answer to Quigg’s superior talents and strength. By the end of the seventh, his manager Frank Maloney had seen enough and persuaded the Nottingham man to retire.

“To win this British title means a hell of a lot to me - and to fight Jason Booth, a top-class fighter, and beat him means even more,” said Quigg, who is promoted by Manchester’s former two-weight titleholder Ricky Hatton.

“I’ve not had that many fights but the thing about me is that I always feel comfortable in the ring. That’s why I was able to control the fight from the off. This shows I am improving more and more. I think now is my time to come along and prove that I am the best.”

For Booth (36-8, 15 KOs) it may well be the end of the road. This was only the second time in 44 fights, he had failed to go the distance.

“I kept telling my corner that I wanted to carry on whenever they asked me but Scott just kept breaking me down,” Booth said. “He’s really amazing, this kid. I couldn’t pick a fault in his whole performance.”