Yarde and Dubois move on.. Zelfa Barrett upset.. York Hall tonight.

A quite entertaining Card at the York Hall tonight, promoted by Frank Warren sprung to life with an upset, as unbeaten Manchester super featherweight Zelfa Barrett 19-0 (12 Ko’s) dropped a hard fought majority decision to rugged Ronnie Clarke 20-4 (10 Ko’s) of Dundee.. The bout didn’t catch fire until round 4 with both fighters enjoying bursts of success, but it was the 6th round that saw Clarke put Barrett on the floor with a tremendous uppercut.. Barrett survived but opted too often to stand and trade, the exact fight that suited the Scotsman.. Clarke won on two cards at 116-111 with the third card scoring a 114-114 draw.. Ronnie captured the IBF European title with the upset..

Cheshire heavyweight prospect Nathan Gorman 11-0 (10 Ko’s) scored a predictable 2nd round time filling stoppage over French Cruiserweight Morgan Dessaux 4-2 (4 Ko’s) in what proved to be a disappointing mismatch.. Gorman, trained by Ricky Hatton has a lot of ability, yet needs more quality work.. Nathan had very limited amateur experience but has since compensated for it with valuable sparring amongst the likes of Anthony Joshua, joe Joyce and Daniel Dubois.. Gorman has been scheduled to meet Brighton’s Nick Webb on several occasions although terms were never agreed. The Webb fight is exactly what Gorman needs, tonight’s opponent being a third replacement and with a weight disparity of nearly 4 stone, it’s hardly ideal.. Regardless Nathan is one to watch..

Next up was Daniel Dubois 6-0 (6 Ko’s) the undefeated London Heavyweight who is grabbing huge attention with comparisons to Anthony Joshua.. Daniel was up against 6 foot 5 former soldier Dave Jones 8-0-1 (0 Ko’s) Unfortunately Jones barely came to survive and after 2 knockdowns, the bout was stopped at the 2.23 mark of the third round by Bob Williams.. Dubois is extremely strong and versatile, but like Gorman needs a step up in class.. Frank Warren is playing his cards very close to his chest with the hard hitting Dubois, with no immediate intentions of risking his hot property anytime soon.. Dubois has been linked to both Gorman and Chisora, but don’t expect to see these matches in the immediate future. Dubois remains the Southern area champion.

In the main event, unbeaten light heavyweight Anthony Yarde 14-0 (13 Ko’s) took 7 rounds to dismantle the crafty Tony Averlant 26-10-2 (5 Ko’s). Averlant didn’t appear to have the physical strength to outgun Yarde, but in spells did pose a few questions with clusters of well placed counters.. Yarde did show maturity, he didn’t rush, showing great patience before leaving the despondent Frenchman’s corner no option but to stop the fight.. Yarde is very self critical, and knows himself that he needs a step up in class if he is to make steps towards a championship fight on the world scene. I’ve yet to see Anthony look remotely uncomfortable during any of his bouts, something that a fighter on the fringe of world class needs prior to taking that step.. Yarde retains his WBO Inter-Continental and European belts with the victory..

Yarde looks every inch the part, with a possible future domestic showdown against Joshua Buatsi looking a natural..