Zelfa Barrett rode a persistent body attack all the way the finish line.

The former title challenger eventually broke the will of Jordan Gill, whom he stopped in the tenth round. Barrett twice floored Gill in the fateful tenth before a subsequent attack forced the end of their 130-pound regional title fight.

The official time was 2:44 of round ten in their DAZN main event Saturday evening from AO Arena in Manchester, England.

“It was vital,” Barrett told DAZN’s Jamie Ward of the must-win scenario he faced. “Do or die, really. If I got beat, where would have I gone?”

Gill hoped to catch lightning in a bottle after his most notable win to date. The 29-year-old from Chatteris scored an upset seventh-round knockout of Michael Conlan last December in Belfast. Another road trip was in store for Saturday’s affair versus Manchester’s Barrett. Gill came forward and attempted to force a brisk pace while Barrett boxed from the outside.

The tempo of the fight changed in round three. Barrett slammed home a right hand to snap back Gill’s head. The local favorite continued to land straight shots upstairs. Gill’s left eye began to swell but later found success. A switch to southpaw cleared a path for a left hand on a cornered Barrett near the round’s close.

Barrett (31-2, 17 knockouts) mixed up his attack in the fourth. A left hook downstairs forced Gill to double over and wince in pain. He remained upright but failed to fend off the former title challenger. Barrett continued to target the body and also landed a left uppercut to Gill’s chin.

The all-star training team of Ben Davison and Lee Wylie restored Gill’s confidence between rounds. The pep talk and tactical advice resonated in Gill bounced back strong in the fifth.

Barrett continued to target the midsection, but Gill was prepared. A left hand and right were both blocked by Gill, who came back upstairs with a straight right hand. Barrett returned to the jab as he moved to his left.

The round paved the way for sound two-way action in the middle rounds. Barrett was often quicker to the draw, but Gill cut off the ring and found repeat success with his right hands.

The local hero was not to be denied, however.

Barrett dialed up the pressure in round ten. He briefly mixed it up with straight shots upstairs before he took the attack down to the body. It led to both knockdowns in the round and fight.

The first was a punch-perfect left hook. Gill went down from a delayed reaction and rolled on the canvas as referee John Latham issued his count.

Barrett had two minutes left in the round to close the show by the time action resumed. He repeatedly launched left hooks and looping right hands below Gill’s tight guard. A left hook landed dead-center just above Gill’s beltline to produce the second knockdown.

Gill once again beat the count but was left on borrowed time. Barrett landed a right to the body and then one up top. A final left hook downstairs and right hand on Gill’s defenseless chin was enough to produce the sudden ending to an entertaining main event.

“I thought the fight could’ve gone either way to that point,” said Gill (28-3-1, 9 KOs), who has been stopped in all three career defeats. “I dug deep. This guy is tricky, very hard to pin down.

“I felt like I was coming on strong until he dropped me with those body shots. I will always get up, I never quit, I haven’t got it in me. But I couldn’t find a way back in. It is what it is.”

Barrett mounted the corner ropes as he celebrated one of his most impressive wins to date. He was surprisingly ahead on all three scorecards at the time of the stoppage. Judges Howard Foster (86-85) and Michael Alexander (86-85) had him up by one round. The wider card turned in by Steve Gray (88-84) drew scrutiny from home viewers who voiced their displeasure online.

It proved moot, as Barrett never once believed a runaway victory was in store.

“Gill, man, tough, tough fighter,” Barrett acknowledged. “He pushed me, man. This guy ain’t shot. I had to work hard,  didn’t underestimate Gill. I hurt him earlier, then I kind of went into cruise control.”

He eventually found the right gear and showed his worth as a still-relevant junior lightweight contender.

“Congratulations to Zelfa,” Gill said of his conqueror.  “I shared the ring with him, I didn’t know if he was world class or not. He proved to me that he’s world class. I genuinely hope he goes on to win that world title.”

Promoter Eddie Hearn sees a brilliant future for each side of Saturday’s headliner.

“Unfortunately, there has to be a winner and a loser,” Hearn noted after the main event. “But they’re both two good blokes. I told Jordan, ‘Don’t give up.’ He’s going to continue to improve under Ben Davison. He showed it in his performance against Conlan and through nine rounds, this was anybody’s fight.”

Barrett extended his current three-fight win streak. It all trails his heartbreaking ninth-round knockout to Shavkatdzhon Rakhimov in their November 2022 IBF title fight. This win was by far his deepest gut check and most entertaining among that run.

It was just what his career needed as his team eyes a return to the next level.

“For this man, it’s time to deliver those title shots,” Hearn acknowledged. “There was a lot of pressure, headlining his first show at home [Saturday night]. Now we’d like to line up [WBA titlist] Lamont Roach, [IBF title claimant] Joe Cordina, though we know he’s defending next.

“Anybody who has a strap at 130 pounds, I believe he’s earned the fight to fight them and I believe he can beat them all.”

Jake Donovan is a senior writer for The Ring and vice president of the Boxing Writers Association of America.

Follow @JakeNDaBox

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