Jordan Gill vs Zelfa Barrett: Live updates and results
23:37:19
IT’S ALL OVER
Eddie Hearn says this is ‘just the beginning’ for Zelfa Barrett but it is definitely the end of this blog. A fantastic stoppage win for the Manchester man and world title wins for both Ellie Scotney and Rhiannon Dixon on a huge night at the Manchester Arena. We will see you next time.
23:35:44
THE KINGS’ SPEECH
After his tremendous win, Zelfa Barrett said” “This was vital. It was do or die really. If I had got beat, where would I have gone? Gill pushed me, man. This guy ain’t shot.
“I had to work hard for it. I didn’t underestimate him. I had to find it. I caught him early and I went into cruise control but that was the wrong move. We will learn from it.
“We worked on that shot on the body pad.”
Jordan Gill, always magnanimous in defeat, added: “Congratulations to Zelfa, what a fantastic fighter. He proved to me tonight he’s world class. I genuinely hope he goes on to win the world title.
“I felt like I was coming on strong but the more I pushed the more I opened myself up to those body shots.”
23:27:28
IT’S ALL OVER!
Gill responds well to that initial knockdown but, with less than a minute left in the 10th, another body shot drops him for the second time. Up he clambers once again but, with Barrett all over him, referee John Latham decides to stop Gill on his feet. There was no great protest about the stoppage from the losing man.
the official time of the stoppage is 2:44 of round 10.
23:26:24
DOWN GOES GILL!
With a minute gone in the 10th, a body shot drops Gill. Can Barrett finish him?
23:24:01
NINE DOWN
That was a good round for Gill, who landed with yet more of those jabs throw from low to high, which are routinely piercing Barrett’s guard. We have got three to go here and it could still be anyone’s fight to pinch.
23:17:11
EYE DAMAGE
Gill’s trainer Ben Davison is clearly happy with his man’s boxing so far but they are working hard on a juicy welt under his left eye as we head into the eighth. Barrett is so far unmarked.
23:11:54
HALFWAY HOME
Six down, six to go. It is Gill who is marching forward, attempting to land with straight shots mainly while Barrett is comfy on the back foot, attempting to time his opponent on the way in. There is very little in this so far and it is all to play for with six to go.
23:04:11
BIG FOURTH FOR BARRETT
The Manchester man makes some huge inroads during the fourth. It is the right uppercut which seems to open the flood gates but Barrett quickly follows it up with sharp hooks to the body with either hands. He looks to be in search of an early finish here but Gill is going nowhere.
23:01:50
JAB IS KEY
This one is all about the respective jabs to far. Barrett is holding his feet and ramming his home while Gill is always looking to dip low and then fire with an up-jab through the guard before following it up with the back hand to either head or body.
23:00:01
SOUTHPAW GILL
He might have been hurt in the third, but Gill does not wilt whatsoever. He even ends the round in southpaw and lands with a sharp lead hook to the body and a straight back hand. Good action so far.
22:58:37
BIG RIGHT HAND FROM BARRETT
Shot of the fight so far comes midway through the third as Barrett lands with a huge right hand which seems to hurt Gill. But the Chatteris man is going nowhere and does not allow Barrett to build on it.
22:52:06
EVEN FIRST
Not much to choose between the two men in an even and entertaining first round. Barrett, the far more established super-featherweight, looks massive in there. This is going to be fun.
22:42:45
MAIN EVENT TIME
Here comes Jordan Gill, booed on his ringwalk in the hometown of his opponent Zelfa Barrett. Gill, off the back of his career-best victory over Mick Conlan in December, is the underdog with the bookmakers. Barrett follows behind him. This is a proper fight; 12 rounds at super-featherweight.
22:31:30
CLARKE WINS
Clarke wins 40-35 on referee Mark Lyson’s card to move to 2-0 as a professional. Now it’s main event time.
22:22:17
IRVING DOWN
Irving down in the second after a right uppercut catches him in the eye, forcing him to take a knee. He is asked by his corner if he wants to continue during the break in between rounds and he says “I’m alright for now”. The fight continues and we have got two rounds to go.
22:15:50
FLOAT
Before we get into the main event, there is a four-round float between the undefeated Liverpool prospect Ste Clarke and Swindon legend Jensen Irving at middleweight.
22:03:17
I WANT UNDISPUTED
After her victory, the new unified champion Ellie Scotney said: “I’m just blessed. There’s a lot we didn’t show but we’re getting closer. There’s a lot more to come.
“I want to be undisputed, I’m ready and waiting.”
21:59:17
SCOTNEY UD
99-91
97-93
96-94
All three in favour of Ellie Scotney the new unified IBF and WBO super-bantamweight champion of the world. Job done. Exceptional performance.
21:57:21
IT’S OVER…
All 10 rounds done and surely Ellie Scotney is now the unified champion. That was a superb performance from the Catford ace, this should be a wide one.
21:52:21
PENULTIMATE ROUND
More of the same here with Scotney surely just four minutes (or less) away from adding the WBO title to her IBF one. Scotney having more success with the left hook to the head in particular – could this be the night she gets her first professional stoppage?
21:44:46
NO RESPECT
Lefebvre is throwing at a slightly higher volume in the sixth but Scotney is showing zero respect for her power, walking straight through it to land to the body and head. This is getting demoralising for the French visitor.
21:41:45
HALFWAY MARK
Scotney really turning the screw in the fifth, landing upstairs with a three-punch combination towards the end of the round. We are halfway through the fight now and you could argue the girl from Catford is 5-0 up.
21:35:48
HIT WOMAN?
Ellie Scotney was walked into the ring by legendary Manchester trainer Billy Graham and DAZN commentator Andy Lee suggested she is fighting a bit like Ricky Hatton here, ripping Lefebvre under the elbows with hooks. Not to mention she is wearing the sky blue of Manchester City.
This has been a superb start from the Catford ace.
21:33:13
MORE SCOTNEY PRESSURE
Another good round in the bank for Scotney, who is winning many of the jab exchanges despite her height and reach disadvantages. Two down, eight to go.
21:29:17
WATER IN THE BASEMENT
Good, purposeful start from Ellie Scotney, who is clearly targeting the body of her taller, rangier opponent. She spends most of the round on the front foot, applying intelligent pressure, with Lefebvre struggling to get anything off.
21:23:45
SUPERSONIC SCOTNEY
It was 30 years this week that Oasis released their debut single Supersonic and Ellie Scotney, in Manchester, ring walks to it.
The IBF super-bantamweight champion takes on France’s Segolene Lefebvre, the current WBO champion, in this unification clash. Lefebvre doing her bit too, walking to the ring in a Manchester United jersey with CANTONA on the back.
Here we go…
21:08:19
SORRY MUM
The new WBO lightweight champion Rhiannon Dixon, who becomes only the second woman to beat Karen Carabajal after Katie Taylor, speaks:
“I can’t describe it in words,” she says. “I’m just really shocked
“I made hard work of it didn’t I? My mum is crying! sorry mum.
“All I do is look for power shots because I think I’m hard but I’m really not.”
21:05:09
AND THE NEW…
Gray 98-91
Molenda 97-92
Milford 96-93
Rhiannon Dixon by unanimous decision!
OK so that was not as close as it looked in the opinion of the judges. Rhiannon Dixon is the new WBO lightweight champion.
21:02:58
WE GO TO THE SCORECARDS…
This could be close. As always in a 10-twos bout, there were some incredibly close rounds there. But Dixon does have that knockdown in the locker… Let’s see what the judges thought…
20:59:47
INTO THE LAST WE GO
A decent ninth from Dixon there as she keeps her punch volume high and starts to put her phases together and land to head and body. You sense that if she can win this 10th and final round, she will be world champion. Here we go…
20:55:03
‘SHE’S TIRED TOO!’
Dixon’s coach, Anthony Crolla, a legend in these parts, gives his fighter instructions before the start of the eighth, insisting that Carabajal is feeling the pace of this fight just as much. The Argentinean is far more experienced at this level, however and seems to have plenty left in the tank.
20:50:32
CARABAJAL RESPONDS
Probably the best round yet for the Argentinean, who routinely lands with a superb jab and is starting to have success with the back hand too. Dixon was flying after the knockdown but is she getting pegged back now?
20:47:40
WHAT’S UP DOC?
Referee Howard Foster calls the ringside doctor up to check on the damage to Carabajal’s right eye following the clash of heads. The doctor seems happy, however, and things continue. Of course if it does get stopped on that cut, we would go to the scorecards for a result.
20:44:08
FOUR DOWN
Decent response from Carabajal, who is obviously not ready to go quietly after getting knocked down in the third. She is taking centre ring and stalking while Dixon circles around the perimeter, looking to score with long straight shots.
20:39:57
DOWN GOES CARABAJAL!
A sensational back hand from Dixon who teases with a jab, slips outside one from Carabajal and then crashes it home. The visitor goes straight over but is up in time to beat the count.
The round ends with both women bleeding after a clash of heads, too. This has been eventful already.
20:35:14
ONE DOWN
Even start to this one; Dixon starts well and lands with a crisp one-two down the pipe against her orthodox opponent. But this was not one-way traffic as Carabajal has her moments too. Bubbling up nicely.
20:28:51
WORLD TITLE ACTION
Our first world title action of the evening is upon us as Warrington southpaw Rhiannon Dixon takes on Karen Elizabeth Carabajal for the vacant WBO lightweight title over 10 twos. Dixon is 9-0 (1) while her opponent from Argentina is far more experienced at 22-1 (3).
20:17:34
SPEAKING OF VUONG…
They bring Cameron Vuong into the ring as Flynn conducts his post-fight interview.
“I hope he’s better than that when we do box,” the injured man says. “He boxed a journeyman and look at the state of his face!”
With that, Flynn pushes him hard in the chest and they are pulled apart. That one should be fun when it happens.
20:14:50
WE GO TO THE SCORECARD…
Steve Gray scores it 59-54 in favour of the Oxford man…
A decent outing for Flynn in only his third fight in nearly 18 months against this late stand-in. Job done and now he can look ahead to a rearranged date with Cameron Vuong.
20:09:45
SECONDS OUT…
For the sixth and final round of this valuable outing for Flynn, who has not had it all his own way and has had to concentrate against the little-known Tanzanian.
19:58:48
HOLD ME TONIGHT
Maharusi starting to swing wildly in the third, and is even deducted a point by Steve Gray for excessive holding. Flynn has to keep things tidy and give nothing away and he should be ok here. He is well ahead here.
19:54:04
UNKNOWN QUANTITY
Flynn, of course, had been scheduled to fight Cameron Vuong here until an injury forced the latter out. Maharusi, therefore, is the latest of stand-ins and arrives off the back of a points defeat to Colm Murphy in Galway last month.
Through the second, Flynn is just starting to get to grips with his visitor, keeping things simple and landing with straight shots.
19:47:32
WELCOME, WELCOME, WELCOME
Hello friends and welcome to this evening’s live blog of every cough and splutter from the iconic Manchester Arena where Jordan Gill and Zelfa Barrett clash at the top of this Matchroom bill.
The non-televised part of the undercard has been and gone while Michael Gomez Jr just stopped KANE BAKER in our first TV fight of the night.
Now in the ring are Jordan Flynn and Tampela Maharusi, who clash over six at lightweight.
Jordan Gill faces Zelfa Barrett in a career defining super-featherweight clash for the WBA International Super-Featherweight Title at the Manchester Arena.
Undercard action begins on the Matchroom Boxing YouTube channel from 5pm UK, noon ET, and 10am PT.
Gill vs Barrett Weights and Running Order
6 x 3 mins International Bantamweight contest
BRANDON SCOTT (125 lbs) vs RODRIGO MATIAS ARECO (125.8 lbs)
6 x 3 mins International Super-Welterweight contest
WILLIAM CROLLA (154.1 lbs) vs FABIO CASCONE (152.9 lbs)
6 x 3 mins International Middleweight contest
JIMMY SAINS (162.3 lbs) vs MATEUSZ KALECKI (161.6 lbs)
6 x 3 mins International Super-Flyweight contest
JACK TURNER (117.6 lbs) vs ABDUL KESI NGAOMA (116.1 lbs)
19:00 LIVE ON DAZN
10 x 3 mins English Super-Featherweight Title
MICHAEL GOMEZ JR (129.1 lbs) vs KANE BAKER (129.4 lbs)
6 x 3 mins International Lightweight contest
JORDAN FLYNN (134.3 lbs) v TAMPELA MAHARUSI (134.5 lbs)
10 x 2 mins vacant WBO Lightweight World Title
RHIANNON DIXON (134.5 lbs) vs KAREN ELIZABETH CARABAJAL (134.5 lbs)
4 x 3 mins Middleweight contest (LIVE FLOAT)
STE CLARKE (161.5 lbs) vs JENSEN IRVING (163.1 lbs)
10 x 2 mins IBF, WBO and Ring Magazine Super-Bantamweight World Titles
ELLIE SCOTNEY (121.8 lbs) vs SEGOLENE LEFEBVRE (119.3 lbs)
12 x 3 mins WBA International Super-Featherweight Title
JORDAN GILL (129.5 lbs) vs ZELFA BARRETT (129.6 lbs)
