Hartlepool boxer Michael Hunter's dream of taking the British super-bantamweight title was ended when he retired after the end of the fifth round against Jason Booth last night.

Despite Hunter's gutsy performance it was clear from the outset he was facing a classy opponent who was rarely troubled by the Hartlepool southpaw.

Eighteen month's after he retired from championship boxing Hunter's failure to make a second coming could now spell the end of his professional career.

Before the fight Hunter's long-time coach Neil Fannan claimed his man was in the form of his life, but it proved not to be enough to put the southpaw back into the big time.

After relinquishing his title four years ago, last night was Hunter's opportunity to regain his place at the peak of British boxing. But it now seems that his thrilling 12-round victory over Esham Pickering in 2005 which secured him the British, Commonwealth and European title looks like being the high point of the 31-year-old's career.

In front of a partisan crowd at the Seaburn Centre, Sunderland, Hunter was roared on by a contingent of around 300 supporters who had made the trip from his home town.

And he got off to an impressive start, dominating the first round and clearly relishing the opportunity to be back in title-challenging action. He landed several decent punches on the champion without ever seeming to trouble the Nottingham-born fighter.

And Booth came back with some quality work in the second round and caught the challenger with a couple of decent, clean shots. Both fighters were well up for the contest and had to be separated by the referee after the bell at the end of the opening rounds.

Most of Hunter's best work came in flurries, while Booth showed his class by repeatedly landing well-judged blows with his impressive left jab. He seemed to be able to pick off punches at will and try as he might, Hunter just couldn't cope with the speed and accuracy.

Both fighters were landing plenty of shots, but the fact that 39 per cent of Booth's were connecting while only nine per cent of Hunter's were getting through tells its own story.

In the fifth round, the champion shifted up a gear and Hunter just didn't have an answer. A succession of head shots rocked the challenger, but Hunter showed great determination to stay in the fight.

He managed to hang on until the end of the round despite sustained pressure from his opponent. But the announcement that he had retired at the end of the fifth round came as no surprise.

Olympic bronze medallist Tony Jeffries was given a useful workout by Belarus light-heavyweight Artem Solomko and had to settle for a six-round points verdict in his fourth paid fight.

Jeffries started well, but hurried his work in his search for another stoppage, and began to look increasingly scrappy as his opponent gained in confidence and began to fire back.

Jeffries, who still won every round on the scorecard, said: "It was bit scrappy, but I got the rounds in and that's the main thing. The support has been brilliant and I can't thank the fans enough."

Fellow Olympic bronze medallist David Price scored his second paid win with a low-key success over Germany's Liridon Memishi, who retired on his stool at the end of the second round.

The 26-year-old Price has endured a frustrating start to his paid career and his inactivity told in a hesitant and nervy start. Memishi's retirement denied him the chance to score a morale-boosting knockout.

Price said: "I'm happy with it. I started the bout well and I wanted to be a bit more patient this time.

"I was a little bit nervous, but it's the same with me every time - I think I work better off nerves."