Barlow TKO'd by Buttabean

Che Barlow

It was the brightest lights for Whanganui boxer Che Barlow to fight under but he was unable to see off rival David Letele on the undercard of Joseph Parker's WBO world title victory at Auckland's Vector Arena on Saturday evening.

The four-round slugfest with Letele, aka Brown Buttabean, was held before the Pay Per View portion of the event started on Sky Arena.

Media reports said it was a slow paced fight over the opening two rounds, with momentum switching throughout, which was in-line with Barlow's pre-fight game plan to not punch himself out in this rematch from their bout in October.

The two men went toe to toe in the third round, with Barlow absorbing some heavy shots as he hung into the ropes at the bell.

Come the final round, Letele went back on the attack, muscling Barlow into the corner and connecting with a solid right hand, by which point the referee had seen enough, stepping in and waving the fight off for a TKO.

"Che and I just took off where we finished last time. This was a fight of attrition," Letele said on social media after the fight.

"Much respect to the bro."

He lifted his record to 15-3 as a professional and announced his retirement from boxing.

The result leaves Barlow 0-2 as a professional boxer from his two fights with Letele, having taken up fighting last year and focusing specifically on boxing over the past few months.