WHOEVER first said attack is the best form of defence shouldn't repeat it in front of Ady Lewis for the next few weeks!

Despite going hell for leather against champion Nicky Booth, the Mighty Atom's attempt to win back the British and Commonwealth bantamweight titles ended in failure at Nottingham's Harvey Hadden Sports Centre on Monday evening.

Lewis was stopped in the seventh round by local favourite Booth who, on a historic night, followed in the wake of his brother Jason's successful retention of his British and Commonwealth flyweight titles a bout earlier.

Jason's fight against a woeful Zimbabwean, Nokuthula Tshabangu, was a huge disappointment, but that's not a verdict that could be laid at the door of the younger Booth and Lewis.

In what was a thrilling spectacle, the Bury battler gave his all, winning the full respect of the fast-improving Booth with his power and tenacity, but all too often finding himself on the end of the bigger man's jab.

Booth's longer reach and powerful combinations gave him the edge in the early rounds, with Lewis always trying to get inside to deliver his trademark powerful body shots.

It was a real hell for leather contest with more than 1,000 punches thrown during the seven rounds.

However, unfortunately for Lewis, most of them were heading his way as he allowed himself to get caught far too often. The champion -- not renowned as a powerful hitter -- stunned the Bury man with a left hook in the first round then at the bell in the second another left had the Bury man in all sorts of trouble and he had to be shown to his corner by the referee.

It looked odds-on an early finish but Lewis -- nothing if not gutsy -- cleared his head enough to enjoy some success on the inside throughout the third round. Then, in the fourth - his best - his body shots looked, at last, to be taking their toll on Booth.

The fifth and sixth rounds swung one way and then another, but in the seventh Booth's resilience paid off.

Ironically, it looked as if Lewis had turned the fight his way with a crunching left that visibly stiffened the Nottingham man.

But before Lewis could capitalise on the champion's discomfort, Booth forced himself off the ropes to deliver a left of his own to the challenger's kidneys that left him writhing in agony.

The Bury man made the count, but referee Richie Davies wisely stopped the contest.

So what next for Ady Lewis?

The immediate answer is a well-earned week's holiday to Lanzarote but career-wise where does he go from here?

After turning his back on the flyweight division for the first time in his professional career he has now lost two on the run at bantamweight.

After Monday night's fight he hinted that he may be interested in super-flyweight but manager and trainer Jack Doughty has his own views on that.

"That's eight stone three but the problem is there's no such weight in this country," said Doughty.

"It would mean bringing in someone from abroad to fight but it's early days yet and when he comes back from holiday we are going to have a good talk."