Zelfa Barrett stops Jordan Gill
Zelfa Barrett (31-2, 17KO) added his name to the prestigious list of Manchester boxing heroes as he scored his first stoppage in almost three years against in-form Jordan Gill (28-2-1, 9KO).
Headlining the AO Arena in Manchester, Zelfa Barrett delighted his home crowd by stopping Jordan Gill in round 10 to claim the WBA international super-featherweight title.
Barrett dropped Gill to the canvas twice with body shots, before a succession of blows to the head led to referee John Latham rightfully waving off the fight.
Ellie Scotney vs Segolene Lefebvre
Ellie Scotney claimed her second world super-bantamweight title as she overpowered Segolene Lefebvre on a great night for British women’s boxing at Manchester Arena.
Scotney added the WBO belt to her IBF title as she dominated her French opponent over 10 rounds, winning on the judges’ scorecards 99-91, 97-93, 96-94.
The London-born fighter has now won all nine of her professional bouts, with Lefebvre suffering her first loss in 19 fights.
Scotney, despite being significantly shorter than her opponent, weighed in three pounds heavier and made that count with punches more powerful than those of Lefebvre.
She also had greater stamina, the French fighter tiring early from round three onwards – although she stuck to her task and made the fight closer on the scorecards than it appeared in the ring.
Scotney started to land heavier blows as the contest wore on – a huge body shot in the fifth and a stunning right in the sixth. Lefebvre attempted to find a haymaker, knowing she was behind, but for every shot landed was being hit by three. She also earned a warning in round eight for a naughty jab at Scotney after the referee had called a pause.
Nothing could stop the rapid-fire Scotney however, with the 26-year-old once again proving why she is one of the toughest contenders in women’s boxing.
She has still not yet won a professional bout by knockout, with her world-title-winning fight against Cherneka Johnson and the first defence against Laura Soledad Griffa both going the distance – and the marathon woman was victorious over the distance again to become unified champion.
Rhiannon Dixon vs Karen Elizabeth Carabajal
Earlier, Rhiannon Dixon completed her journey from pharmacist to world champion as she beat Karen Elizabeth Carabajal to claim the WBO lightweight belt.
Warrington-born Dixon also went 10 rounds for her title, winning on the judges’ scorecards 98-91 97-92 96-93.
The Briton had dropped Carabajal to the canvas with a juddering left hook in round three, although the Argentine found her feet on the count of eight and recovered to take the fight into the latter stages.
Dixon was the more energetic fighter throughout, while Carabajal counter-punched as she showed the same steel that took her the distance against against Katie Taylor.
But victory ensures Dixon continues her perfect professional record, winning all 10 of her bouts.
It also completes a remarkable story for the 28-year-old, who only took up boxing seven years ago and was working as a pharmacist as recently as last year.
But she has been trained into a world-class boxer by former world champion Anthony Crolla, who saw his charge claim her title at the same arena where he won his own lightweight title, eight and a half years ago.
And Dixon was good value for the unanimous verdict, earning her the WBO belt vacated by Taylor.
Carabajal, 33, meanwhile suffered only the second defeat of her 24-fight career, having previously been beaten by Taylor at Wembley Arena.
Dixon was the more energetic fighter from the off, and scored the critical breakthrough in the early stages of round three as her powerful left found its mark on the South American champion.
It looked as if it would only be a matter of time before Dixon would be crowned champion – but Carabajal showed admirable guts and worried Dixon with some solid punches as the fight wore on, even as the Englishwoman scored with regular body shots.
At the end of round seven, Crolla had to reassure his exhausted fighter: “You’re six minutes away from winning a world title. Do not throw this away. She is every bit as tired as you.”
Carabajal raised a swelling on her opponent’s eye and the final round descended into a slugfest as Dixon’s defences dropped – but she did enough to write another chapter in her remarkable story.
William Crolla vs Fabio Cascone
It was a great night for the Crolla family all round, as Anthony’s younger brother William impressively stopped Fabio Cascone in the first round of their light-middleweight bout.
Crolla brought the Italian to his knees just 71 seconds into the second fight of the night with a fierce body shot, to take his own perfect professional record to five wins, four by knockout.