British lightweight contenders Jordan Gill and Zelfa Barrett headlined a Matchroom fight card at the Manchester Arena in Manchester last Saturday on April 13th, but it was the underdog in Barrett who came out on top to grab a surprising win. Furthermore, British female fighters Ellie Scotney and Rhiannon Dixon both grabbed a world title for themselves; with Scotney receiving the honor of being considered the unified champion, while Dixon can notch being a world champion on her list of achievements.
The non-title lightweight bout between Jordan Gill (28-3-1, 9 KO’s) and Zelfa Barrett (31-2, 17 KO’s) was close from the start of the match, with both fighters taking their fair share of rounds in a bout scheduled originally for twelve rounds.
However, the tenth round changed the entire course of the match as Barrett went on to knock Gill down twice with body shots. Following the knockdowns, Barrett pressured Gill well to eventually seal the match for himself when the referee interceded and stopped the match, resulting in Zelfa Barrett winning by technical knockout (TKO).
Though the outcome had not been too surprising, as the two Brits had been evenly-matched throughout the fight, the tenth round encapsulated the unpredictable nature of boxing matches with Barrett not having been assured a win prior to those knockdowns. With his TKO victory, Barrett may look forward towards new and more opportunities in the 135 lbs division that may land him closer to a world title fight.
However, with neither Barrett or Gill ranked officially in any of the main four sanctioning bodies’ rankings, it is doubtful that Barrett’s victory will see him challenge directly for a world title in the near future, a rematch between the two next appears to be a more feasible prospect for both their careers.
On the undercard, British women’s IBF super bantamweight champion Ellie Scotney (9-0, 0 KO’s) faced off against French WBO champion Segolene Lefebvre (18-1, 1 KO’s) in a unification bout that proved to be a tough contest for both, but ultimately saw Scotney grab the win by unanimous decision (UD) through scores of 96-94, 99-91 and 97-93.
With two out of four world titles in her possession, Scotney may benefit from looking towards unifying with the other two champions in the division; Mexican WBA champion Erika Cruz (17-2, 3 KO’s) and Mexican WBC champion Yamileth Mercado (22-3, 5 KO’s)
British lightweight Rhiannon Dixon (10-0, 1 KO’s) became a world champion after defeating the Argentinian Karen Elizabeth Carabajal (22-2, 3 KO’s) for the [vacant] WBO 135 lbs title. Dixon won by UD with scores of 98-91, 96-93, and 97-92. Though becoming a world champion is an important milestone for every fighter, Dixon faced off against an opponent she was expected to defeat, and expectations have now surmounted on Dixon for her to step up if possible.
Former lightweight undisputed champion Katie Taylor (23-1, 6 KO’s) is no longer an option after the Irishwoman defeated Chantelle Cameron (18-1, 8 KO’s) at super lightweight earlier this year to become the undisputed champion in that division. Taylor has subsequently vacated the WBO and IBF lightweight titles, and with the WBA and WBC titles also expected to be vacated new champions might emerge in the women’s 135 lbs division in the near future―providing Dixon with plenty of opportunities moving forward which might allow her to become undisputed herself at some point.
However, there are doubts as to Dixon’s ability to become the top fighter in her weight class, with her already having allegedly passed down an opportunity to face rising British star Caroline Dubois (9-0, 5 KO’s) for the vacant IBF title earlier this year. With Karen Carabajal having been deemed to be the easier opponent compared to Dubois, hence resulting in Dixon fighting for the WBO title, Dixon may lack the confidence or experience to potentially unify against Dubois.
Currently, Caroline Dubois holds the IBO lightweight title―which is not regarded to be on the same level as any of the other four main world titles. However, Dubois is regarded as one of the best female lightweights, which should see her challenge for one of the major titles in the near future and set up a potential British vs. British unification match in the next year or so.
