David Barnes is Very Focused on Fulfilling His Potential
By Terence Dooley
British boxing fans presumed that they had seen the last of Manchester’s David Barnes when the former British light-welterweight and welterweight champion lost to Colin Lynes in Prizefighter: The Light-Welterweights in December 2009. Barnes sat out the whole of 2010 and most of 2011 before returning to action with a decision win over Isaac Quartey last November. A former soldier, wild child and one of the most highly rated prospects of the early-noughties, Barnes recently joined forces with Coldwell Boxing in a bid to realise his potential.
November’s win over Quartey showcased the best and worst of the 31-year-old. Barnes displayed flashes of brilliance en route to a shutout victory – 60-54 on the card of referee Howard Foster – but was unable to close the show.
“I hurt my (left) arm in round two,” said Barnes when speaking to Boxingscene. “Once I did that, I just wanted to get the rounds in and shake the rust, but I think I could have stopped him without the injury. I’d been out for nearly two years and only had one fight in three years so it was just about getting out again.
“Dave [Coldwell] is a very good promoter who is doing well for me, he’s got me [former EBU-EU titlist Giuseppe] Lauri next [at Bolton’s De Vere Whites Hotel on 24 February] so I’ll have a good name under my belt before going for the European and then hopefully a world title.
“Lauri is a decent fighter, I won’t take him lightly because he has had good fights and decent wins. I need to show people how good I can be. I have been British champion in two different weights and never lost either belt in the ring, but I’m not looking for the British title anymore – I want bigger things.”
Barnes, 25-2-1 (11), won the vacant British welterweight belt with a controversial decision over Jimmy Vincent in 2003. A single point separated the two men and the result helped pave the way for a change to the scoring system for British title fights, with referee’s no longer the sole scorer of the bouts following the controversy whipped up by referee John Keane’s 115-114 scorecard.
A challenge to Joshua Okine for the Commonwealth title in 2005 saw Barnes picked apart and stopped with a minute of round 12 remaining. The result raised questions about the fighter’s dedication to his craft and eventually led Barnes to split with long-time coach Brian Hughes MBE and head to Bob Shannon’s gym via a brief stint with Anthony Farnell. An upsurge in David’s form led to a British light-welterweight title win over Ted Bami in 2008 and a successful defence against Barry Morrison only for Barnes to suffer niggling injuries and a 15-month hiatus before returning for that disastrous defeat to Lynes.
Tales of lifestyle problems have also dogged Barnes throughout his career. Indeed, the former solider went AWOL from the Parachute Regiment during his first British title run and spent six weeks at a military detention facility in Colchester. Boxing’s all too familiar tales of boozing, womanising and a lack of discipline have followed Barnes during the subsequent years. The fighter, though, feels that the stories were over exaggerated and that his spell with Shannon plus a recent move to Karl Ince’s Oldham-based gym has put the spring back into his step.
“I let myself down in the past,” he said. “I have a decent head on me now and some decent people around me. I thought Bob’s gym had shut down to tell the truth so I went down to train with Karl. I love Bob to bits, if I hadn’t of thought the gym was shut I’d have gone back with Bob, but I thought he was at the Hatton Gym in Hyde and that would have been too far for me to travel. I am a loyal kid. I went to Karl’s gym and will stay loyal to him. I’ve known Karl since I was 21, I know how he works and I like the lads in the gym – I’m happy.
“I don’t go out any more. I used to go out partying when I was younger. It wasn’t that what beat me when I won the British titles, I was a bit of a lazy man and that is what beat me, really. I was messing around with girls, had some bad experiences and made some mistakes, but it is time to move on.
“When I’m in the gym, I work hard, but I’m from what is classed as a bad area [Partington in Manchester] and you get drawn into other things when you’re younger [Barnes signed up for the Army as a boy solider at the age of 15 before realising he had made a mistake]. I have boxed since I was a kid and got to the point where I needed a break. I had a timeout and have rekindled my love for boxing.”
Once one of Britain’s most promising, if mercurial, talents, Barnes believes that it is never too late to fulfil your potential. The stylish southpaw draws inspiration from a man who lost his way midway through his career only to prove the naysayers wrong.
He said: “The fire is burning. I want to reach my full potential. People said I was good enough to become a world champion, but I went astray. I’m still young enough, look at Micky Ward, he boxed for titles in his thirties and boxers are fighting for longer these days because they look after themselves.
“Hopefully I have four or five fights this year. If I get a title shot then maybe I’ll fight less, but I just want to fight. I’ll mix things up – it doesn’t make any difference (if I am on a) TV or a small hall show. Every fight is a stepping stone for me.”
Next week’s outing against Lauri will answer some of the in-ring questions, but a few long-term questions are likely to remain until Barnes has a run of fights behind him.
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