Booth becomes Britain's biggest winner by Ian McNeilly Feb 24th 2007

If you want knockouts, Doncaster Dome is not normally the place to go. The home fighters more often than not notch up points wins. But last night – four fights, four knockouts. 20-year-old Doncaster lad Jamie McDonnell is a live prospect in the bantamweight division. He overwhelmed Grimsby's Wayne Bloy at 2:34 of the third for the English title. Boxing with aggression from the off, McDonnell (8st 5lbs 5oz) sneaked the first session but by the middle of the second was outclassing Bloy (8st 3lbs 10 oz), putting together sharp and accurate combinations to both head and body. Right on the bell to end the session, Bloy shipped a hard right and tried to disguise the fact he was on unsteady legs as he walked back to his corner. McDonnell was much too quick but fair play to Bloy, he was hanging in there. However, a short hook put him down and the Yorkshireman went all out to stop him when Bloy rose. A withering and sustained assault, Phil Edwards had no choice but to step in. “I can win the British title, easy,” said McDonnell. “Well, not easy, obviously but I think I can definitely win it. For a moment I thought the ref wasn't going to step in and I worried about burning myself out for later on. But I just thought ‘F*** it!' and went for it.” Promoter John Rushton appealed to his local Area Council to push his man for a shot at the Lonsdale. His son, Jason, won the British Masters and Central Area light-middleweight titles by stopping switch-hitter Davey Jones in the seventh. This outcome didn't look likely in the second when a right hook put Rushton (10st 12 ½ lbs) on his knees. Up at three, he seemed clear-headed and had recovered enough to get through with his own hard right by the end of the round. Jones (10st 12lbs) seemed to have imploded by the fourth and was offering little resistance but he got his second wind to take the next as he switched to a southpaw stance. Something was awry when Jones came out swinging in the seventh. You had the sense it was his ‘last hurrah' and when Rushton comfortably withstood the assault, a right hook to the side of the head followed by a left resulted in Jones walking away and crouching in his corner. Rushton called out a local rival afterwards. “There's a lad from Sheffield, Lee Noble, who said he'd knock me out. Well, let's have him next then. I'm ready for him.” Noble beat Rushton on points over six in October and revenge seems to be on the new champ's agenda. Former Doncaster Dragons (rugby league) prop Dean O'Loughlin repeated his debut stoppage of Plymouth's Lee Webb – only he did it a bit faster this time around. Webb (18st 4lbs) was halted in three in December but this time only survived until 55 seconds of the second round. It was car park stuff at times, O'Loughlin (18st 8 ½ lbs) marauding forward with haymakers and Webb trying to resist the bigger man whilst getting through with his own meaty efforts. O'Loughlin was given a stern warning for hitting on the break at the end of the first. A stiff left jab, followed by a left hook saw Webb sink to the canvas in delayed reaction. Up unsteadily at eight and a bit, Foster rightly waved the match off. Tony Booth is now the active British fighter with the most wins as he notched up his half-century with a savage knockout of York's Billy Wilson. Booth (15st 5lbs) is a crowd favourite as he likes to clown about a bit as well as brawl. He lost the first two rounds as Wilson (14st 11 lbs) was boxing nicely and picking Booth off from range. Big Tony was always keen to fight though and by the third, Wilson was coming more into range and the Hull veteran pinched this session. Wilson got back to his boxing to take the fourth though Booth's sporadic successes were always greeted by cheers from the fans. The brutal nature of the men in the biggest division was brought home at the start of the fifth when Wilson didn't see the huge right hook coming his way. It landed flush and Wilson crashed to the canvas in Booth's corner, his head hitting the deck with a resonant thud. Referee Foster immediately waved it off and Booth's second Glyn Rhodes removed the gum shield and cradled Wilson's head and the doctor rushed to his assistance. Wilson rose groggily to his feet after a few minutes propped on a stool. He might have retired more times than Frank Sinatra but why go away when you've still got something to offer – and Booth offers more than a big right hook – he's a true crowd pleaser. Talking of retirements, Doncaster favourite Steffy Bull decided to hang them up earlier this week, frustrated that a match with Sheffield's Central Area champion John Fewkes could not be made. Instead, he'd been matched with relative novice Sujad Elahi and Bull just couldn't get himself up for it. Bull and Fewkes were both introduced to the fans during the interval and Simon Goodall indicated Bull's retirement might be short-lived as he announced that hopefully the match could be made in the near future. In a nice display of sportsmanship, the pair exchanged warm greetings at ring centre.

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