Darren Barker is going to shock you all.

I can't believe how underrated this guy is but he's going to make a fan out of a lot of people. I can't stand most British boxers but let me tell you this guys very talented. I've followed this guy from day 1 and know a damn well good fighter when I see one, I don't jump on hypetrains like the rest do. He's a spiteful puncher (not the most heavy handed in the world) that uses his height & reach well, very fast hands, lovely jab, timing & footwork. This is a classic case of 1 fighter being hugely overrated & the other underrated. You all said Macklin had no chance against Sturm & how wrong was you? Macklins no Darren Barker. Lets be fair here Barker is an underdog for good reason but Sergio is very beatable & overrated in a lot of area's (punch power, timing & footwork) Because of his great lateral movement & showboating, ONE perfectly timed corkscrew left against a guy who didn't see it coming - people think this guys better than he actually is. You need to remember - This guys struggled against a fair few Euro-bums as you call them. The bookies are taking notice as well from a 10-1 underdog to a 6-1 now with weeks to go. He stands in front of Barker, impersonating a drunken monkey, mark my words Barkers going to slap the **** out of him & be gone before he throws that predictable corkscrew left. Win-lose-draw, I promise you Barkers going to surprise a lot of people. (This guys made a career of sparring, fighting & whipping southpaws) Love how they give the robotic stiff Dzinziruk a chance but not Barker when reality is Barkers better in every department. He has the height & reach, youth (Sergio's not getting any younger & once those reflexes even start to go ;)), timing, accuracy & I'd even go as far as saying he is as fast if not quicker than Sergio (remember I was a guy who said Wlad was probably as fast as Haye & the world laughed, I wasn't exactly wrong) I said Arce will not just beat Wilfredo Vazquez Jr but likely K.O him late, the world laughed. They said Arce was done & this kid was going to KHTFO! This is Barkers big chance, he's not like most of these bums that are there for a payday, he'll go to win & prove the world wrong because thats the type of fighter he is. Don't count this guy out, he's no scrub. WAR BARKERRRRRR! :boxing:

Comments (20)

http://i54.tinypic.com/eis4yf.jpg "i'm shocked you went out like a little bi-tch."-gary lockett

14y ago

paulf

I thought it was a LOT closer than Harold had it. Barker was landing short, effective shots and then going all Arthur Abraham with that defense. Didn't give Martinez the openings he needed to shine early; around rounds 3-4 it looked like Martinez had a LONG night ahead of him. Barker looked better than any opponent of Martinez's in a long time. Barker managed to make Martinez look ordinary, when he is anything but. Hats off to him. Also: HBO's team really didn't seem to gel well at all tonight, imo. Would have liked to have heard Roy.

14y ago

puga

ts was right...he did shock me for going out like he did...:lol1:

14y ago

dan_cov

Joshua Clottey did okay against Martinez. Until Martinez brutally KO'd him. Yep not bad for a cab driver hey? :lol1:

14y ago

dan_cov

Very proud of Barker, he did exceptionally well for the first half of the fight but in the end it was just too much. He'll come back though & I truly believe he can beat most middleweights at world level. Congrats to Sergio & congrats to Barker for putting in a good performance I knew he was always capable of :notworthy I hope he's won many fans over because if I am being totally honest he made Sergio look very ordinary at times.

14y ago

HitmanHattonAY

great performance from Barker !

14y ago

kadyos

Barker gave a good account of himself tonight until sergio found his range in the late rounds. I was surprised not shocked.

14y ago

IronDanHamza

Barker shocked me. I can't believe how competitive he was in the first half of the fight. Well done, Darren. Well done. Happy that he was completely destroyed and made a good account of himself.

14y ago

DoktorSleepless

Major props to Barker. Did much better than everyone expected.

14y ago

IronDanHamza

Martinez isn't diverse? Barker came in with the perfect game plan, and STILL lost. Darren was good, but Martinez is elite, he made the #1 MW from London look mediocre and robotic. London's a pretty small place.

14y ago

BUD

lol............

14y ago

Turbo_B

He gave a better account of himself than I expected. Made Martinez look fairly ordinary at times.

14y ago

S_H_A_R_K_B_O_Y

Martinez isn't diverse? Barker came in with the perfect game plan, and STILL lost. Darren was good, but Martinez is elite, he made the #1 MW from London look mediocre and robotic.

14y ago

Troav

Good fighter, but just that, nothing more...

14y ago

Avenue

Only thing he showed me is that he can defend besides that barker didnt show me much. hes pretty good tho

14y ago

Nonitard

BAKER should be more active

14y ago

dan_cov

Bumpety bump bump! Not bad for a bum hey? Barkers made me proud no matter what happens. Like I said - Very good underrated fighter & far far from a bum!

14y ago

southpaw_07

I will be impressed if Barker lasts longer than Dzinziruk (past the 8th RD) :D and if he can win at least 1 RD then I'll be even more impressed, apart from that, I can't see Barker pulling the upset unless Martinez is sick or something

14y ago

SCEN3RY

Damn, you pretty much called it. I got a little lucky that day. boxing is so unpredictable, you can never be sure. :boxing:

14y ago

bojangles1987

don't get me wrong, I agree the way he did it was impressive. My first and only prediction of the fight below...and even so, I enjoyed his performance because he won in empathic fashion...I just didn't buy into the reactions afterwards. 03-12-2011 - before the fight Damn, you pretty much called it.

14y ago