England’s Zelfa Barrett takes on Welshman Gavin Gwynne at the OVO Arena in London on Saturday night in a clash between two experienced campaigners.
The WBA intercontinental lightweight title is on the line and the bout serves as the co-main event for Viddal Riley’s European cruiserweight title defence against Seydi Coupe.
Zelfa Barrett v Gavin Gwynne Tips Preview
Zelfa Barrett is a former world title challenger and is on a four-fight winning streak. The Mancunian comes into the bout as the favourite and is the more experienced of the two, despite being the younger man.
Gavin Gwynne, 36, is a former British, Commonwealth and European lightweight champion and is coming into Saturday’s contest on the back of a career-best win. Gwynne claimed an upset win over the previously unbeaten Khaleel Majid in his last bout at super lightweight and is dropping back down to the 135lbs limit to face Barrett.
Barrett made his debut in 2014 and won his first 19 fights before suffering a first defeat, losing via majority decision in a European title fight with Ronnie Clark.
The 33-year-old responded well to that setback with a nine-fight winning streak, which included a win over former IBF world champion Kiko Martinez, and that earned him a shot at the IBF super featherweight title.
Barrett challenged Shavkatdzhon Rakhimov for the vacant title and made a strong start with a knockdown in the third round, but Rakhimov recovered and won by TKO in the ninth.
That is the only stoppage on Barrett’s record and his most recent defeat came via unanimous decision to Jazza Dickens in a super featherweight contest in February 2025.
After that loss, the 33-year-old made the move up to lightweight and is now on a four-fight winning run - beating late replacement Owen Durnan in a welterweight clash in his last outing in July.
Gwynne made a late start to his career as he turned professional at the age of 26, while he only made the decision to focus on boxing full time a few years ago. The Merthyr Mexican is a tall lightweight at 6ft and has compiled a 19-4-2 record, but is a better fighter than those figures suggest as some of his defeats have come against elite opponents.
Gwynne lost his unbeaten record to future world champion Joe Cordina in a British and Commonwealth title fight in 2019; he’s also lost to world title challenger James Tennyson, current IBO super lightweight champion Mark Chamberlain and the unbeaten Cameron Vuong, who he has since drawn with in a rematch.
The Welshman is a clear underdog ahead of his bout with Barrett but he is coming into the contest on the back of an upset victory over Majid, who had a 16-0 record prior to their clash, and will feel capable of pulling off a minor shock.
Zelfa Barrett v Gavin Gwynne Tale of the Tape
Zelfa Barrett | Gavin Gwynne | |
Record: | 35-3 | 19-4-2 |
Age: | 33 | 36 |
Birthplace: | Manchester, UK | Merthyr Tydfil, Wales, UK |
Height: | 5’ 7” | 6' 0" |
Stance: | Orthodox | Orthodox |
Last Fight: | Won (PTS) Owen Durnan (July 2026) | Won (MD) Khaleel Majid (May 2026) |
KO%: | 51.43 | 26.32 |
Alias: | Brown Flash | Merthyr Mexican |
Zelfa Barrett v Gavin Gwynne Top Tips
Zelfa Barrett to win by KO, TKO or DQ @ 11/5
Zelfa Barrett goes into the fight as the 4/11 favourite and he should be able to justify that position by getting a win over the line.
This is an intriguing clash of styles as Barrett is a patient counter-puncher with strong fundamentals and defensive discipline, whereas Gwynne is a high-pressure fighter who uses his size advantage to overwhelm opponents.
Barrett’s ring IQ and experience at a higher level suggest he has the skills to cope with Gwynne’s style.
The Merthyr Mexican has struggled against technical fighters previously, such as Joe Cordina and Mark Chamberlain, and Barrett’s speed and movement should allow him to control the distance even if Gwynne has clear height and reach advantages.
Brown Flash’s body shots are particularly dangerous, as he demonstrated in a 2024 win over Jordan Gill and that could see him engineer an early finish.
Gwynne is potentially vulnerable to the body and has been stopped twice previously, so there is an opportunity here for Barrett to send out a statement with an emphatic win over a dangerous opponent.
All odds displayed on this page were correct at the time of writing and are subject to withdrawal or change at any time.
