By Terence Dooley
Black Flash Promotions got off to a flying start at the Middleton Arena on Saturday night with a six-fight show that saw Zelfa Barrett—the nephew of the show’s promoter, former British and European light-welterweight champion Pat Barrett—post his first professional win by out-pointing the experienced journeyman Kristian Laight over four-threes.
Barrett (130lbs) used his sharper footwork to create angles for his shots, rather than just marching forward and trying to batter the guard of Laight (140lbs), a mistake that too many debutants make once the adrenaline kicks in.
Zelfa’s sharp work kept the vocal crowd happy throughout; he was rewarded with a 40-36 margin of victory from referee John Latham, who worked the entire card. "We trained hard, I'm a dedicated person, so hopefully I want to go to the top," said Zelfa when speaking to BoxingScene.
"I wanted to show some angles, not like a normal fighter on their pro début trying to knock them out—he's not going to get knocked out. Pat, [and co-trainers] Paulie [Da Silva] and Tommy McDonagh warned me that he's an experienced guy. It's not really sunk in yet—but I'm happy and hope I put in a good performance for them (the fans)."
Pat Barrett was equally as pleased, telling me: "What do I expect from Zelfa, just for him to keep doing what he's doing.", when asked if he was happy to guide his nephew to a win. Pat told me that he had had his training cap on, he was proud as a coach first and foremost.
"He wasn't erratic, he was class and picked every shot, they'll come back and see him again. To be quite honest, Zelfa surprised me today because half the stuff he did in the ring he hadn't done in the gym, so I think he kept that hidden from me to prove a point.
"This is only going to get better and better, we'll probably do five or six shows then need a bigger venue."
"He’s really a father figure to me," added Zelfa, before heading into the crowd to celebrate with his fans. Nuneaton's Laight drops to 9-187-7.
Middleton’s Matthew Ryan (151½lbs) made his first appearance of 2014 a fruitful one by getting five of the scheduled six rounds under his belt against Gillingham’s Mick Mills (153lbs) before stopping the 28-year-old southpaw in the fifth then pledging to avenge last year’s six-threes loss to George Michael Carmen if given the opportunity for a rematch. Ryan is now 6-1 (1); Mills is nicknamed "Ready to Go", he goes to 0-4, but his spirited effort will earn him future outings.
"Matthew Ryan boxed out of his skin, he listed to orders, did exactly what was required of him, so I told him to put it on him in the fifth round," said Barrett. "Boxing's a learning curve—it'd be a second-round stoppage if we did it (the Carmen fight) again."
Middleton's Curtis Gargano (188lbs) did not go home happy, though, after dropping a four-round decision to Angelo Crowe (181lbs) by a margin of 37-39. Gargano, 30, was given a rousing reception by the crowd, who roared him on throughout in a bid to steer him to his first professional win.
Crowe, now 2-5 (1), rode out the storm, picking his shots well to take a deserved decision and a W back home to Plymouth. Gargano is now 0-4-1.
Barrett’s Leeds link up with Rick Manners also proved fruitful, with the undefeated Zahid Hussain (127¼lbs) taking part in a four-threes against Miklos Hevesi (126lbs). The 23-year-old moved from orthodox to southpaw and back again throughout to continuously befuddle “The Bekes Battler”, 1-7 (0) en route to a second-round TKO win. Zahid’s called “The Magic Man”, and he waved his left about like a wand to register his first stoppage.
British International Masters Champion Justin Newel (137lbs), 8-0 (no stoppages), eased past Hungary's Zoltan "The Zol" Horvath (142lbs) over four-threes; the 39-year-old is now 1-30 (1). Newel, 25, reiterated his desire to fight Luke Campbell MBE. The Leeds-based boxer told me that an offer had been on the table once before, he said: "What happened there is we got a call saying we could take it at nine days, in Hull [Campbell's hometown] after dropping half a stone and the money was shit.
"Let's get the fight on properly, with a proper training fight. I'll be ready to fight, Luke'll be fit and I'm coming for you. Proper dieting, a proper camp and I'll be on my game. I'll take it in his own backyard. He was a special amateur, an outstanding amateur, but I don't think he's turned over well."
Reece Cartwright, 20, also went back home to Leeds with a win under his belt, he moved to 5-0 after posting a six-threes win over Atherton's William Warburton, 13-66-5 (2). Cartwright put in a perfect Baker’s half-dozen, using his loaf throughout to post a 60-54 win and earning himself a bit of dough as well as some valuable ring experience against the 27-year-old journeyman.
Please send news and views to @Terryboxing.
