Hometown Hero: Zelfa Barrett drops Jordan Gill twice en route to stoppage win
Could Zelfa Barrett fight for a world title next?
Zelfa Barrett emerged victorious in a must-win fight last night against Jordan Gill in his home city of Manchester.
Barrett floored Gill with two brutal left hooks to the body in the tenth round before following up with a heavy right hand and prompting the referee to stop the contest at Manchester Arena.
But prior to the tenth, Gill-Barrett was a back-and-forth affair with both fighters having success.
Gill came forward and tried to throw combinations on the inside, while Barrett boxed on the back foot, where he used his blistering hand speed to counterpunch.
Barrett was the one landing the more eye-catching punches, especially his right hook to Gill’s head and powerful hooks to the body.
However, there were rounds where Barrett wasn’t throwing enough punches, which allowed Gill to stay competitive with his superior work rate and aggression.
At the time of the stoppage, two judges had it 86-85 to Barrett, and the other scored it wider at 88-84, yet without the two knockdowns, Gill may have been up on the scorecards.
The opening round was tentative with Barrett circling the ring and pumping out the jab as Gill stalked him, searching for gaps in the hometown fighters' defence.
Round two began to heat up when Barrett connected with a right uppercut and a flush right hook in response to growing pressure from Gill who managed to corner him on the ropes.
Despite Gill continuing to come forward in the third and experiencing some success from the southpaw stance, Barrett landed more flush right hands.
And in round four Gill was tagged with several left hooks to the body by Barrett who started to let his hands go, instead of just throwing single punches.
Regardless, in the sixth, Gill showed no signs of wilting as he forced Barrett on the ropes again and connected with an overhand right.
By round eight, the headliner felt like it still go either way with Gill landing another overhand right and Barrett seeming to tire.
Then, in round nine, Gill started to capitalise on his momentum by landing strong right hands on Barrett’s body who connected with a sharp left hook earlier in the round.
Gill made a strong start to the tenth round by landing a straight right, but this was short-lived as Barrett swung the contest in his favour with two almost identical left body hooks.
Barrett improved his professional record to 31-2 and could fight for a world title next.
Meanwhile, Gill suffered the third loss of his career and retirement is a possibility.
Good fight. Barrett adapted well and finished the job. He's matured into a nice boxer at this level.