MANCHESTER, England — Zelfa Barrett had been making the same journey from his Harpurhey home to the Collyhurst and Moston Gym every single day for almost 20 years.

Barrett’s uncle, Pat, took over the reins at the famous gym years ago and the former European junior welterweight champion has built his nephew’s style from the ground up, guiding him to a host of junior lightweight titles and to the fringe of world class.

Over the past two years, inactivity and lack of opportunity have caused Barrett to drift further and further from the spotlight, and in January he produced a stale, one-paced performance, suffering a crushing defeat to James "Jazza" Dickens in the process.

Nowadays, too many fighters take the easy option of ending long standing professional relationships with a text or a phone call, but when fighter and trainer have such deep emotional ties as Barrett and his uncle that was never an option. After some difficult conversations, both came to the conclusion that the time had come for Barrett, 31, to try something new.

Decision made, Barrett had to find the right man to reinvigorate his career. He settled on British boxing legend Joe Gallagher.

The new partnership gets underway this weekend. Now competing at lightweight, Barrett (31-3, 17 KOs) will fight Mexico’s Cristian Bielma on a VIP Show in Bolton, England.

Gallagher has known and admired Barrett for years and used him to help prepare Anthony Crolla for his world lightweight title fights with the relaxed, explosive Jorge Linares. Familiarity doesn’t guarantee a fighter a spot in a busy stable, however. Gallagher spoke to Pat and invited Barrett for a chat.

“I went there and he was like,'What do you want? What do you expect?' And I said, 'Joe, I'm just easy going. All I need is time and love. That's all I need. Nothing else,'” Barrett told The Ring.

“He put me on the bags, throwing these combinations and doing these things he said. He said, 'Stop, there's nothing up with you. Every single punch you're throwing is correct. Power with speed. Why have you not knocked nobody out earlier? How have these guys gone 12 rounds with you? I don’t understand.'

“I just sat there and shrugged my shoulder and said, 'I don't know.'

“It was just delightful to hear that. Just that breath of a new voice believing you gives me that extra pizzazz.”

Pat spends countless hours teaching his fighters how to fight with rhythm and flow. During sparring, Barrett can be a joy to watch and when he is on form and in his groove, there are few fighters in Britain who are better to watch, but that “pizzazz” has been missing in recent outings.

Whenever Gallagher has spoken about Barrett in interviews, a smile crosses his face. His new recruit is a different type of fighter to the long list of champions he has built in the past. Barrett is too far down the line to change too much technically, but Gallagher doesn’t need to do that. His job will be to unleash his undoubted talent. If Gallagher can unlock Barrett’s ability and flair, he will have a legitimate world class talent on his hands.

“Joe just reminded me of who I am and how good I am. I'm not 'The Flash' for nothing,” Barrett said.

“He's just reminding me of my punch output. He’s showing me, two phase, three phase and he's just showing me different ways to win. It's like a manager and you're showing your team a different formation and that's what he's doing. He's just showing me a different formation of how to win."

Almost 11 years into his career, Barrett remains obsessed with boxing and neither he or his uncle would have ever allowed themselves to fall into a comfort zone, but maybe it would be fair to say he had become over familiar with the day-to-day routine and faces at his old gym.

It doesn’t matter whether you are an 11-year-old beginner or an established professional, walking into a new boxing gym can be a tense experience.

Barrett is good friends with former WBA junior featherweight champion Scott Quigg and former professional Marcus Morrison, both of whom are part of the team Gallagher has assembled at Champs Camp in Moss Side. Quigg in particular was renowned as a ferociously hard trainer and he would have spelled out exactly what would be expected of Barrett if he made the move across Manchester.

Barrett also has ambitious fighters such as English junior lightweight champion Josh Holmes, undefeated Riyadh Season favourite Mohammed Alakel and multi-time national champion Huey Malone breathing down his neck.

So far, everything has been as advertised.

“I’m never comfortable there. It’s an uncomfortable environment because it's hard work. I'm just being comfortable feeling uncomfortable if that makes sense,” Barrett said.

“Every day when I'm walking upstairs I'm thinking, 'What am I doing today? Am I sparring? Who am I sparring? What am I doing?' So I'm always on my toes.

“I was sparring and I went back in straight line once and Joe stopped the spar and said, 'What are you doing? Zelfa Barrett, you've had 34 professional fights. Why are you going back in a straight line? Go back in zigzags, go back in angles.'

“And then he said, 'Don't do it again.'

“Joe's watching on the bag. I feel his eyes burning in the back of my head and that extra pressure is bringing that extra 1% out of me when I'm on the bags. I'm tired but I'm still throwing and moving and blocking and countering and feinting and looking.

“Even when Marcus [Morrison] and Scott [Quigg] are watching me. They’re on me when I'm shadowboxing and when I'm sparring. When I’m on the VersaClimber. I like that kind of attention but it also makes me think, 'Don't get it wrong. Don't get it wrong. Don't get it wrong.'

“I've got a fresh set of different fighters around me so it's also making me want to perform because I know eyes are on me and people will be thinking, 'OK, let me see how good he really is.'”

Talk about potential future opponents and ambitions can wait. The only thing that matters to Barrett is this weekend.

This will be his 35th professional fight, but everything will be new. His body will feel different after spending months on a different strength and conditioning programme. The crucial hours before the first bell will be spent with Gallagher and when the fight starts, he will feel those eyes once again burning into the back of his head. He will need to listen out for a new voice pointing out different mistakes and potential openings.

This is exactly what Barrett wanted.

“I believe in Joe because he's done it with other fighters. He’s made fighters into the champions they are,” he said.

“He's got me reading this book called Relentless. It’s about Kobe Bryant and believing in yourself. I trust him. I believe in him. He can tell me these things and I believe in him.”