THURSDAY P.M. update: One of the British boxing forums contains a suggestion from someone claiming to be well connected that Jason Booth has been battling a heavy cold in the countdown to his fight with Michael Hunter. This is hearsay, of course, but it does raise a concern that wasn't there before. I'm leaving the preview as originally written, but if Booth ISN'T in tiptop shape a tough fight becomes that much tougher.

Jason Booth will be relying on his boxing skills in the face of what opponent Michel Hunter promises will be unrelenting pressure when the two meet for Booth’s British super bantam title on Friday, with Sky Sports televising.

Hunter, 31, seemed to lose his enthusiasm for boxing after his knockout defeat against Steve Molitor and he has had only three fights in the last three years. Now, Hunter says, he is back to his best. He told a press conference last month that he feels “like a machine”.

Booth, also 31, is the favourite but Hunter is the naturally bigger man, having boxed in the 122-pound division his whole career whereas Booth moved up from bantamweight a year ago and turned professional as a flyweight. Hunter has home ground advantage, too, with the fight taking place in Sunderland in the northeast of England, close to his hometown of Hartlepool, while Booth is from Nottingham in the midlands.

Much will depend on whether an intensive training span of about 11 weeks will make up for Hunter’s inactivity — his camp believes it will, with trainer Neil Fannan telling the Hartlepool Mail newspaper that Booth will “have to kill Michael Hunter to beat him”.

Booth is the superior technical boxer, with old-school type skills in the way he rolls away from punches and counters.

He has struggled with alcohol addiction but marriage and fatherhood provided the settling influence he needed and in recent bouts Booth been boxing as well he has ever done, with six wins in a row — five of these fights were for either the Commonwealth or British title.

Hunter, too, has had out-of-the-ring problems — “alcohol was downed more often than opponents,” the Peterlee Mail reported, but he says that he is now in the best shape of his life and totally focused.

In his last fight, 10 months ago, Hunter outpointed Osman Aktas, a French and European Union titleholder who was unbeaten in his last seven bouts. It was a good showing from Hunter, who moved well and punched busily.

At his best, Hunter, a former British and European 122-pound champion, was known for his scorching workrate. Opponents couldn’t keep up with him. He survived two early knockdowns to outscore a peak-form Esham Pickering and stopped three opponents in a row in European title defences.

Hunter against Molitor seemed like an even-money fight, and the British boxer started well, winning two of the first three rounds on two judges’ cards. Then Molitor cranked up the pressure in the fourth, landing precise punches from his southpaw stance, and Hunter just seemed to fall apart, shaking his head in surrender as he was counted out in the fifth round.

However, if Hunter has indeed recaptured his former drive and intensity — if he is “the old Michael Hunter” as he says he is — then Booth is in for a torrid evening.

Booth and Hunter are fighters who have come back from personal turmoil, they are on friendly terms outside the ring, with mutual respect shown, and I am expecting a fast-paced and competitive fight.

If I was sure that Hunter was indeed back to the high-energy, punches-flowing fighter of four years ago I would pick him to outwork and outlast Booth. I have my doubts, though, whether that sort of flame still burns within Hunter.

Logically, Booth should be the winner here. He has been the more active, and Booth has to be considered the in-form fighter, having boxed beautifully in his last three fights, against Sean Hughes, Mark Moran and Rocky Dean, all of whom he outclassed.

Hunter has the height, reach and size advantages and, of course, he’s boxing on his home turf, but at this stage of their careers I make Booth the better fighter.

I think that Booth can slow down Hunter with well-placed punches and proceed to pull away in the scoring. I’m taking Booth to win a tough fight, probably by decision although the possibility of a late-round stoppage win for the British champion is entering my thoughts as the fight gets nearer.