Robbie Barrett targeting British crown after claiming English title

The Darfield southpaw convincingly outpointed hometown fighter Marcus Ffrench in Birmingham on Saturday night to secure the vacant strap.

And he has set his sights on British title glory as he looks to build on his rapid improvement over the last 12 months.

“We’ll wait and see what happens next for me but the obvious step is the British title,” the 24-year-old told the Times.

“I think it’s wide open domestically. Scott Cardle, the British champion now, is going to move on soon and the likes of Luke Campbell are bypassing British level to go straight for world titles.

“But other than that there’s not a great deal I think will trouble me.

“I’d back myself to win the British title.

“We’ll see what happens. Kevin Hooper made one defence of the English title and was made mandatory challenger for the British so we’ll see.

“I’d imagine I’d be making a defence early next year.”

Barrett was in full control of his clash with Ffrench to claim scorecards of 100-91, 100-91 and 98-92 from the three judges.

It had been tipped to be a 50-50 fight but Barrett dominated, something he feels was down to finding his fighting style.

He said: “I’ve made a lot of progress in the last year or so and I think it’s because I’ve settled into a style.

“Before, I was all over the place, my feet weren’t right and I didn’t know whether I was coming or going. I was winning fights but I wasn’t boxing well.

“But I’m settled into a style now and I’m boxing well. We’ve worked really hard over the last couple of years and particularly for this fight.

“It was eight weeks of solid focus on the fight without any distractions.

“I knew I’d beat Ffrench but I didn’t expect to be as in control as I was.

“I still think there’s a lot of improvement left in me.

“I’m excited about what is to come.”