It would be hard to find a fighter as happy in their work as Zelfa Barrett. Whether he is sparring, hitting pads or working the bags, Barrett, 31-2 (17 KOs), still has the enthusiasm of a teenager.
‘Ay, watch this’ he shouts before replicating a tiny piece of footwork he has noticed Gervonta Davis use or ‘Did you see that?’ after landing a new shot he has been working on.
Last Wednesday, Barrett had the run of the Collyhurst and Moston Gym.
With his uncle, Pat, in Newcastle with unbeaten prospect, Niall Brown, and the rest of the gym’s fighters disappearing after their sessions, Barrett hopped on the stationary bike which is squeezed in between a radiator and the ring at the famous old gym and happily chatted away about anything and everything.
He won a recent Matchroom Fight Day 5km and revealed that although he was running shoulder to shoulder with Terence Crawford, he decided against pestering his idol.
“I just nodded, ‘Yes. You ok?’ That’s it. I thought, ‘I’ll see him again.’ I don’t worry. My time will come.”
Barrett was starting to taper down. On Saturday night he was due to return to the ring for the first time since stopping Jordan Gill in a super featherweight world title eliminator seven months ago.
Barrett hasn’t been able to secure a title shot but he needs to fight. With no room available on Matchroom cards for the remainder of the year, Barrett’s manager, Steve Wood, agreed a deal for him to fight on his show in Bolton last weekend and matched him with Mexico’s Christian Bielma, 19-8-2 (7 KOs), over 10 rounds.
Two days before, the Mexican was ruled out and Barrett did not get to fight.
It is a situation typical of his year.
Still, when BoxingScene spoke to Barrett, he was on weight and happily transitioning into fight mode.
“I’ve missed it. My last fight was in April so, that process of making weight, that process of doing your last sessions, I missed it,” the 31-year-old said. “You turn from a herbivore to a carnivore.”
As much as Barrett needs and wants to fight, he worked long and hard to get his way onto arena shows and readily admits that he thought hard about returning to a scene he graduated from years ago.
Barrett loves small hall boxing and forged his reputation boxing at places like Middleton Arena and Oldham Sports Centre but he is now one of the top 130lb fighters in the world and he worried about how the perceived step down would be received.
After speaking to his uncle, Pat, and Wood, the benefits of getting a fight under his belt before the end of the year pushed any negative thoughts away.
“Only because I’ve been at the top of the game, up to the world title,” Barett said. “My last fight was a world title eliminator. I’ve topped the MEN Arena. Only special fighters and special artists do that so to come back to a kind of a smaller show, I just thought, ‘What’s going on with my life? I’ve gone so far.’ There’s nothing up with fighting on these shows – it’s where I came from – but I’ve gone so far.
Those who know Barrett can’t fathom why he finds himself in such a position.
Barrett comes alive in front of the camera and – despite his success and more than his fair share of tragedy – he is exactly the same person he was when he turned professional a decade ago and is still looked after by the same people. It would be impossible to find anybody on the Manchester boxing circuit with a bad word to say about him.
Most importantly, he is also a world class fighter capable of producing spectacular finishes and more than willing to fight anybody at 130lbs.
Still, he seems to be the forgotten man of British boxing.
Barrett isn’t the type to cry and complain about his lot and when media outlets do interview him, he keeps his thoughts to himself rather than airing his grievances.
Still he is only human. He has done everything asked of him and still can’t find a top super featherweight willing to fight him.
“Yeah, of course I get annoyed [when he sees other people get their shots],” he said. “I want my opportunity. What more have I got to do to get my opportunity? I’ve won the English, the Commonwealth, the European titles. I got to the world title. Won another world title eliminator.
“I believe I’m that guy. You can’t really sleep on me. What more do I need to do to get my shot again?
“If this was somebody else, not as good as me but in a position like I am, they would have had their shot. A champion would have been like, ‘I’ll fight him. Good name, in the top 10.’ It is what it is. I’m dangerous, man. I really do believe it. I believe I’m one of the best fighters in the world. I believe I’m one of the best athletes in the world.”
For a few weeks this summer, Barrett thought he had been given the chance to prove it.
After beating Gill, he took a quick break in Marbella. Whilst he was there, he received a call telling him that he was in pole position to fight IBF super featherweight champion, Anthony Cacace, on the recent Riyadh Season card which took place at Wembley Stadium.
Barrett took his only previous world title fight with Shavkat Rakhimov on just a few weeks notice and performed well. It is two years since he dropped Rakhimov early before tiring and getting stopped in nine rounds. Finally, he had been given the chance to perform on the biggest stage imaginable with a full camp behind him.
He flew back early from holiday and started training. In the days before the launch press conference, it became apparent that his friend and regular sparring partner, Josh Warrington, had been selected for the job.
“There’s nothing I can do about it. You know, when life gives you lemons, you’ve got to make lemonade,” he said.
“You’ve just got to take the most positives out of it.
“Josh is my guy so I wanted Josh to win but I thought, ‘Oh, Imagine if I was in there. Jesus Christ.’”
Since then, it has proven impossible to nail down a big fight.
Discussions about a move to lightweight and a fight with Shakur Stevenson petered out and Barrett is set on staying at 130lbs and doing what it takes to win the world title he set his heart on years ago.
Ideally, he would like a straight shot but if a fight with Raymond Ford could be made a world title final eliminator, Barrett would willingly take on the former WBA featherweight champion.
The fight with Cacace continues to remain just out of reach. The two have been on each other’s radars for years but don’t look like sharing the ring anytime soon. The Irishman beat Warrington on points in September and now looks set to fight his mandatory challenger, the dangerous Sugar Nunez.
“Cacace is in a great position now,” Barrett said. “I congratulate him and his family. Outside of boxing, he’s probably a cool guy, I don’t know him. But he’s in a position where he’s thinking, ‘I’m the champ, I’m earning my money.’
“He’s thinking, “If I don’t have to fight him and I can fight someone else and get this much, I’m going to fight him. This guy’s a problem. Why am I going to fight him?’ He’s not scared to fight me.
“I’m not saying he’s not cool but he can take a different route. If that’s the route he’s doing, then that’s the route he’s doing. I’m just going to keep doing me.
“People already know how good I am. There’s a reason why these guys don’t want to fight me. There’s a reason why I’m getting swerved here and there.”
Plenty of fighters have found themselves in Barrett’s position and allowed frustration to get the better of them.
They start spending less and less time in the gym, only turning up when they know for sure that they have a fight scheduled and lose the enthusiasm and desire to improve. When their moment does finally arrive, they aren’t the same hungry fighter they once were.
Barrett has moved in the opposite direction.
There is no need to call ahead to arrange a chat with Barrett, he is in the gym at the same time every morning and there is never any sense of him going through the motions.
It isn’t unusual for a session ending tap out on the bags to turn into a twenty minute lesson from his uncle on perfecting the left hook.
“Yeah, because it’s my life, it’s my job. I love the game,” he says, almost baffled as to why you would mention it.
“They get to the point of their career where they’ve done all that hard work and – truly and rightly – they deserve their shot.
“I just love it and I know it’s going to come.
“I’ve had a lot of obstacles in my life. I lost my mum. I lost John [his elder brother]. I lost Wayne [his cousin]. Just life obstacles have been thrown at me and if I was to stop then I’ve failed.
“I ain’t going to stop because I can’t get the fight I want. I’ll just have to keep beating the people who get put in front of me.
“That’s my mindset and that’s just the way I am. Don’t cry about spilt milk. Listen, I’ve had a great life. God just threw obstacles at me and I’ve just had to get over them.”
Barrett and his mum were inseparable. The family are from one of the toughest parts of Manchester but boxing has provided them with a way out. After losing his brother and cousin, Barrett dedicated himself to the sport and promised to make his mum proud. Sadly, Sonia died after a short battle with cancer in 2021.
She is tattooed on his chest and continues to play a major part in his life. Losing her has given Barrett a deeper perspective on life. She may not be there to talk to after a hard day’s training anymore but the promise he made continues to push him on.
Losing her has also hardened him to the frustrations and issues that may break other fighters.
This weekend’s fight falling through will hurt badly but it is just the latest obstacle he must clear.
Barrett knows all too well that – in the scheme of things – waiting for a fight date is insignificant.
He knows that his moment will eventually come and he also knows that he has earned it. He just needs to make sure that he takes it with both hands.
“Deep one. Not only did my mum die, I was there. It wasn’t like getting a phone call. I was there,” he said.
“Me and my uncle Pat was there. I was with her.
“That kind of thing is trauma. Not everything is just like someone’s died and you’re upset. It’s traumatising.
“I’m having to take my mum to hospital and do all these things. It’s all stuck in my brain for a year. I didn’t have good dreams about my mum for a year. These things people don’t know.
“So this little thing to me is minor. I know for a fact a lot of people – I won’t wish it on nobody by the way – but if they went through what I went through with their mum, they wouldn’t box.
“Some people lose their head over women, never mind their mum. At the end of the day, that’s my advantage over everybody.
“I’m not saying I’m one in a million because there’s some fighters out there that will do that, that’ve been through worse and I respect them but that’s what makes me different to all these guys.
“Some people feel like life owes them.
“I believe in the universe and God. He sees these things and you’ll get out of it what you put in.
“I’m not doing this just for your sake. I’m doing it for me. I will get rewarded. Time is your friend. You’ve just gotta bide your time.”
John Evans has contributed to a number of well-known publications and websites for over a decade. You can follow John on X @John_Evans79
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