On Saturday, April 13, Zelfa Barrett (31-2, 17 KOs) defeated Jordan Gill (28-3-1, 9 KOs) by tenth-round TKO at the AO Arena in Manchester, England, live on DAZN in a 12-round super featherweight bout. It was an impressive stoppage win for “Brown Flash,” and attention now turns to what could be next for the Manchester-born fighter.
The fight developed a pattern quickly, with Gill walking down Barrett, looking to catch the Mancunian, who was content to work off the back foot and let his jab go. Barrett was doing the cleaner work, but his output wasn’t high, with Gill the aggressor. Barrett landed a great shot in round three, with his opponent taking the punch well.
Round four had plenty of action, with Barrett putting together some nice combinations, while Gill sat down on his punches more, with both fighters having success. Gill had more success as the rounds progressed, with Barrett seemingly slowing down. The Manchester-born fighter had a better round nine before landing a crippling body shot in round 10, which folded Gill, who somehow beat the count before being dropped again – and despite beating the count once again, Barrett launched one final sustained attack, which forced the referee to wave the fight off, awarding Zelfa Barrett a hugely important win.
After the victory against Gill, Eddie Hearn spoke on what could come next for the Mancunian fighter: “It’s time to deliver him a world title shot,” Hearn said. One potential opponent appears to be WBA super featherweight champion Lamont Roach (24-1-1, 9 KOs).
Roach mixes his punches well and has a good chin, making him a hard fighter to pin down. He’s very effective at putting pressure on his opponents, making it challenging to get any momentum going against him. A fight between him and Barrett would be an interesting one, where the Brit will need to box well on the back foot but put his punches together earlier in the fight than he did against Gill.
On the “Ring of Fire” undercard, Joe Cordina (17-0, 9 KOs) will face Anthony Cacace (21-1, 7 KOs) for the IBF and IBO super featherweight titles, and the winner of this fight remains a real possibility for Barrett.
Cordina is the favourite for his fight against Cacace, making it difficult not to get excited over a Wales vs. England match-up. Cordina is a great boxer who has exceptional hand speed and times his punches well. He feints and punches from various angles, making him a difficult opponent.
A fight between Cordina and “Brown Flash” would be a chess match, with whoever establishes their game plan early in the fight being the favourite.
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