Zelfa Barrett Topples Bruno Tarimo By Way of UD
On the undercard of Parker versus Chisora, super featherweight fighter Zelfa “Brown Flash” Barrett (27-1, 16 KO’s) claimed his most recent victory in the belly of Manchester Arena. Barrett managed this by thoroughly out-boxing Tanzanian pugilist Bruno “Bruno Vifuaviwili” Tarimo (26-3-2, 5 KO’s) en route to a unanimous decision win. The win was that much more rewarding being an IBF super featherweight title eliminator.
The win marked his third of the year and his eighth since suffering his only professional defeat to Ronnie Clark back on February 24, 2018. Barrett, who won the Commonwealth super featherweight title in 2019, is coming off a fourth-round stoppage of Viorel Simion.
Signed to Matchroom Boxing, it will be telling to see what he comes up with for his next assignment. Clearly, it’s back to the drawing board for Tarimo.
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ONE-SIDED AFFAIR
The much shorter Tarimo supplied all the major pressure throughout the opening period. Although this aggression was rarely effective as Barrett was largely able to keep him at bay. Yet, it was no easy effort to do so. He provided the barrier that he did with movement, his jab and straight right. The second period was extremely similar to the first, only now the Brown Flash was having a slightly easier time keeping Tarimo at arm’s length. With increasing frequency, Barrett clobbered his foe with sharp hooks and uppercuts. In the third, just outside the first minute, Barrett dropped Tarimo with a short left hook. He rose to his feet and fought on without any ill effects to the end of the round.
During the second half of the fifth round, there appeared to be a shift in dynamics. The Tanzanian fighter had been devouring head and body shots like he didn’t feel pain throughout the night. This changed with a pair of straight right hands that seemed to bother him. A short time later, Barrett nailed him with an impressive volley of punches that brought the audience to their feet. The prizefight maintained the previous status quo until the ninth round when Barrett made a point to sit on his punches with more regularity. To his credit, Tarimo absorbed the punishment well but his situation was obviously much more dire.
ONLY A FORMALITY
Despite the tenacity of Tarimo, or the added firepower from Barrett, the bout drew to a conclusion the same way that it started and progressed. Tarimo never stopped coming forward and the Brown Flash never stopped plastering him with head-snapping shots. The right uppercut in particular gave the Tanzanian trouble the whole fight. As expected, when the cards were read, Barrett was awarded a unanimous decision win. With the victory, Barrett is one step closer to his coveted world title shot.
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By: Bakari Simpson
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