Jordan Gill: Zelfa Barrett rival 'not scared' after Manchester heckles

Jordan Gill says he is "not scared of anything" after being relentlessly heckled during the weigh-in for his headline bout with Zelfa Barrett on Saturday night.

WBA international super-featherweight title holder Gill takes on Manchester native Barrett at the AO Arena, and the local hero had vocal support during Friday's weigh-in.

A group of Barrett supporters, armed with a loudspeaker, offered vocal support to their man while accusing Gill of "looking scared".

Gill responded to the heckles in his post weigh-in interview, after both fighters made weight for the headline bout.

"I'm in a fantastic place, I feel great," Gill said. "Despite his cheerleaders, I'm not scared of anything."

Responding directly to Barrett's supporters, the 29-year-old from Cambridgeshire added: "I'll get you too, any time."

Gill is used to winning against hometown heroes and hostile crowds. In his last fight, he won the vacant WBA belt by beating Northern Ireland's Michael Conlan by technical knock-out at Belfast Arena.

Barrett, meanwhile, says he will not let down supporters in his home arena on Saturday night, where he is headlining for the first time.

"I'm ready. It's been a long time coming," the 30-year-old said.

"Size, speed, everything, I'm better than him. If he thinks he'll knock me out, he's deluded."

While the words were sharp, the face-off was respectful and passed without incident.

There is nothing to separate the men in weight, with both coming in at 9st 3½lb.

Jordan Gill (left) and Zelfa Barrett had a close but respectful face-off at Friday's weigh-in ahead of their headline bout in Manchester

They both have similar professional records too, with Gill recording 28 wins from 31 fights while Barrett has 30 victories in 32 bouts. Both men have only lost twice professionally in their careers.

Scotney and Dixon make weight for title bouts

While Gill v Barrett is the headline event on Saturday night, the stacked undercard features two women's world title fights.

The co-main is a super-bantamweight unification fight as IBF title holder Ellie Scotney takes on WBO champion Segolene Lefebvre.

A smiling and relaxed Scotney weighed in at 8st 10lb, with French fighter Lefebvre - despite being significantly taller than her opponent - three pounds lighter.

Lefebvre, cheered on by a large pocket of French fans at the Edwardian hotel in Manchester, was more animated than Scotney, waving to the crowd before shouting in French following the face-off.

The face-off itself was lengthy, with security having to split the two as Scotney engaged in her trademark of extended, unblinking eye contact.

She then joked about the quality of Lefebvre's previous opponents, saying she "had to pay five euros to watch her latest fight".

Both women have won all their previous professional fights, with Lefebvre maintaining a perfect record across 18 bouts while Scotney has won all eight of her match-ups.

The other women's title fight on Saturday sees Rhiannon Dixon face Karen Elizabeth Carabajal for the vacant WBO women's lightweight title.

Warrington-born Dixon was given a great reception as she and Carabajal weighed in at the exact same level - 9st 8½lb.

Dixon, 28, is taking on her first world title fight after winning her nine previous professional bouts. She only took up boxing seven years ago while studying at university, and praised her trainer - former world champion Anthony Crolla - and her promoters for getting her this far.

"It's got more real now," she said. "But it's mainly about Anthony tomorrow, I'll do it for him.

"Matchroom have put so much time into me; when this came up, it's an opportunity I couldn't not take."