Jason "Too Smooth" Booth defends his British super bantamweight title against the undefeated Scott Quigg at the Reebok Stadium in Bolton this Saturday night. Quigg is considered to be one of the hottest young prospects in the country, while the supremely talented Booth has lost two of his last three fights, and could be on the slide. Quigg is a huge super bantamweight at 5' 8'', while the 5' 4'' Booth has almost as many moves as Floyd Mayweather. The ingredients are all there for a cracking domestic confrontation.

Booth vs Quigg will be shown live on Sky Sports 1, the action starts at 8 PM.

Much has been written about 32-year-old Jason Booth over the years. A highly talented amateur that picked up five national championships and boxed for England, Booth turned pro when he was just 18, and within five years he had captured British, Commonwealth and European titles at flyweight.

In 2003, Booth won the lightly regarded IBO super flyweight title from South African Lunga Ntontela, but after successfully defending it against Dale Robinson, he lost it to Ulsterman Damaen Kelly. The loss of his title sent Booth into a spiral of deep depression. The boxer had always enjoyed a beer, but now he began drinking to excess, and adding class-A drugs to the equation.  

His decline was rapid, and in a remarkably frank interview last year, Booth revealed just how far he sank during those dark times:

''I was in parks and dosshouses. I was  British champion but walking around with drunks and thinking they were mates. I will 'd get up, drink cider and top up during the day. Sometimes, I'd get a bottle of cheap vodka and walk around with it in my pocket.

I would do drugs. Drink led me to them. It made me do things I didn't want. Uppers, downers, you name it I did it. I used to panic if I ran out of painkillers. Coke. Heroin, yeah, when I could get money, but I wasn’t a thief. It was me that got robbed.

You do a lot of things you're not proud of when you're drinking. They still haunt me today. And when you've done bad things, it makes you drink even more because you're ashamed of yourself. 

After a bender, I’d get fed up with myself and go on a run. But one day, after a nice 10 miles, I started shaking and went to hospital. They referred me to an alcohol clinic. It frightened me and I wanted to stop, but it was only when my body rejected the drink that I found the courage. My stomach packed in. I was sicking blood every morning.''

Booth was inactive for two years after the Kelly defeat, and in 2007, after two tuneup fights, lost a unanimous decision to Ian Napa for the British bantamweight title. Following that loss, Booth slowly but surely began to put his life back together, and by 2009 he had quit drinking altogether.

Booth captured the British super bantamweight title with a sixth round TKO over Mark Moran in April 2009, and subsequently defended it successfully against Rocky Dean, Michael Hunter and Matthew Marsh. He took an eight bout winning streak into a world title shot in September 2009 against Aussie Steve Molitor for the IBF super bantamweight title. Despite putting on a tremendous effort, Booth just came up short - losing on a majority 12 round decision.

Booth successfully defended his British title in February with a split decision over Welshman Jamie Arthur, but was KO'd in 10 rounds by big hitting Spaniard Kiko Martinez in a fight for the vacant European super bantamweight title two months later, the first time he had ever been stopped.

Now 32 year old Booth (36-7, 15 KO's) risks his British title against fast rising 23-year-old Scott Quigg (22-0, 15 KO's).

Quigg, from Bury in Lancashire, is one of the jewels in the Hatton Promotions crown. An aggressive boxer puncher with blisteringly fast hands and decent if not concussive punching power, Quigg fights behind a high, tight guard, and throws quick, powerful combinations. 

Surprisingly, considering how well schooled he appears in the ring, Quigg had only 12 amateur fights before turning  pro in 2007.  He was brought along on a diet of journeyman, before stepping up in class in September last year, when he stopped Argentine Santiago Allione in three rounds to win the WBA Inter-Continental super bantamweight title. 

Quigg has subsequently defended his title twice, outpointing Kodjo Sassou lat November, and stopping Venezuelan Franklin Varela in seven rounds in July this year. Quigg is currently ranked no.1 contender by the E.B.U at super bantam.

It would seem that Booth, who struggled to outpoint feather fisted Jamie Arthur in February and who was dominated by Martinez in April, will need to roll back the years and then some, if he is to derail the progress of Quigg. At his best, ''Too Smooth'' would have had too many tricks for Quigg, but the Jason Booth fans saw against Martinez has lost just a fraction of his reflexes, making him easier to catch. Any fighter who relies on reflexes and timing like Booth has done to great effect throughout his career, will struggle when they begin to go. 

If Quigg is not 100% focused, Booth could sting him early with some sharp counters which could knock him out of his stride. Once Booth gets into his rhythm, he is a tough man to beat. However, I expect to see Quigg stick resolutely to his game plan. He may drop some early rounds attempting to trap Booth, but by the middle rounds the defending champion will slow down just enough for Quigg to start catching him. 

Once Quigg starts connecting with those impressive combinations, it will be just a matter of time before he traps Booth in a corner or on the ropes and delivers the coup-de-grace, and I think that will happen in round nine.

Quigg by TKO in nine. 

Big Fight Odds: Jason Booth 5/2, Scott Quigg 2/7 bet365