Zelfa Barrett is in line for a shot at the IBF super-featherweight title after he proved to sharp, elusive and, ultimately, big for Bruno Tarimo as he boxed his way to a unanimous points decision on the Parker-Chisora bill in Manchester. 

Tarimo, a Tanzanian who boxes out of Queensland, Australia, stayed on the front foot for almost the entire 12 rounds, but once Barrett found his rhythm, he was able to pick Tarimo off.  

Barrett towered over Tarimo, who always had to walk through punches to get close. While Tarimo never gave up, he could be better suited by a moved down in weight. 

Early on it seemed that the pressure of Tarimo might be about to cause Barrett problems, as Barrett backtracked and flicked out his punches.  

Barrett decided to hold his feet a bit more in the third round, as he landed one-twos as Tarimo got in range. One body shot stopped Tarimo in his tracks and then a whopping left hook caught Tarimo, who was trying to throw a shot of his own, and dropped him. 

In the fourth, it was the right hook that Barrett started to have success with as he drilled right hooks and uppercuts home whenever Tarimo stood square on and when Barrett up the pace in the fifth round, he hurt Tarimo twice with the right. 

The Tanzanian continued to come forward, and he landed a good hook and uppercut early in the sixth round, but Barrett quickly found his rhythm and pinged him with a straight right from range. 

In the seventh, Tarimo’s forward-motion slowed, but without Tarimo’s pace to box off, Barrett rather slowed down too, as he waited for things to happen. He picked things up again in the eighth round although Tarimo had his moments in the ninth as he backed Barrett into the ropes. 

Barrett was well in control, though, and any time Tarimo over-reached, Barrett was there to swing in a right, while he began to use his jab more to keep Tarimo off balance.  

Tarimo put a huge effort into the eleventh round, as he kept the pressure on Barrett, but the Mancunian responded well landing a peach of a right uppercut. Still, there was no deterring Tarimo who kept in Barrett’s face until the final bell. 

Howard Foster and Vincent Dupas scored it 117-110, Paolo Ruggeri had it 116-111. The referee was Steve Gray.