Barker vs. Sturm is on!

This means the IBF is going to be held hostage for a couple years - Barker, Sturm, Soliman, Geale all passing it around I bet. Forget that belt man, it's gonna be worthless for a while Why does it make the belt worthless? Barker, Sturm and Geale are all worthy top 10 middleweights, maybe not so much Sturm these days but if these guys all fight each other, it makes for a good round robin. Throw Murray and Macklin into the mix and you can't go wrong. What don't you like about it? that these guys may not fight GGG? The same guy who has defended his WBA title against a string of 154 pounders? Come on, let's get some perspective here. Yes GGG is the hardest hitting of the lot and has a decent chance of beating Martinez, may be the best chance out of anyone in the top 20 but he hasn't done anything with his world title except get tomato cans fed to him on HBO, apart from Macklin of course. If you look at it, every name you mentioned in a derogatory way has a better resume than GGG, heck GGGs next opponent is Curtis Stevens lol come on bro, grow up and stop being a fighter fan and start being a fight fan.

If Barker can match the same effort he put forth against Geale he should be able to win a close dec while Sturm keeps a much tighter guard than Geale he's prone to inactive periods and won't be able to take advantage of Barker's biggest weakness his chin Explain to me why Barker has a weak chin?

He also got numerous decisions go his way as well let's not forget. Either way, it's a dumb move on Barker's part. He could easily set up a good money making defense, a domestic fight, then go on to bigger things. Sturm is nothing right now. Like the DLH fight you mean? Anyway I think this is a good time for Barker to take on Sturm. Sturm is passed his best now relying more on warrior instinct than the jab which was one of the best in boxing 4 years ago.

If Barker can match the same effort he put forth against Geale he should be able to win a close dec while Sturm keeps a much tighter guard than Geale he's prone to inactive periods and won't be able to take advantage of Barker's biggest weakness his chin

Especially in Germany. Although there is a hope a robbery won't occur as Daniel Geale was given the decision in his fight with Sturm when I thought it was really close and could have gone either way. Geale and Soliman both won decisions there recently in fights that could of potentially gone to Sturm. Macklin also got a draw. The German-Robbery myth has been just that recently; myth. There's been far more robberies in the past year or so in the UK and the USA. IMO Sturm is not particularly popular with the judges having lost two razorthin decisions against Geale and Soliman. Both fights in Germany. You are putting forth a myth. ^This

LOL, WTF??? Taking your title to another man's homeland is crazy. He'll need to bust Sturm to pieces to win.

This means the IBF is going to be held hostage for a couple years - Barker, Sturm, Soliman, Geale all passing it around I bet. Forget that belt man, it's gonna be worthless for a while F*ck them. As long as Golovkin doesn't mess up against Stevens, the only fight that matters at middleweight is Martinez-Golovkin anyway. The other belts are mere trinkets.

Fighting Sturm in Germany? Check out the big balls on Darren Barker.

Rematch clause I heard is supposed to be for Barker, not Sturm. That's good insurance if Barker gets robbed. Barker fighting Sturm and then Murray is hardly what I call holding a belt hostage.

If Barker is getting paid well - and I mean very well, which I am assuming is the case - then it's not a bad choice. If he gets the decision then he's a hero for winning in Germany. If he loses fair & square then he's been well compensated. If he gets robbed then he'll get a load of coverage in the UK & a big money rematch or a big money bout against a UK fighter. It's a win-win-win for him.

It'll be fun to watch Barker take the fight to Sturm. I remember back in 2010, sitting in my computer chair watching Sturm jab Giovanni Lorenzo around on an ESPN3 feed. My feed kept lagging, and I'd scream at the screen, spraying half-eaten particles from the entire Domino's pizza and two liter of Sprite that I was munching on. My only comfort was waiting for my stream to pick up so I could watch the German fans cheer with frightening fervor every time Sturm landed his jab. If I recall correctly, Lorenzo threw about 14 punches that fight. In many ways, it was my lowest point. Anyway, WAR BARKER ...

This means the IBF is going to be held hostage for a couple years - Barker, Sturm, Soliman, Geale all passing it around I bet. Forget that belt man, it's gonna be worthless for a while And people are saying there's a rematch clause as well :pat:

Barker via UD if the judges are fair....

He also got numerous decisions go his way as well let's not forget. Either way, it's a dumb move on Barker's part. He could easily set up a good money making defense, a domestic fight, then go on to bigger things. Sturm is nothing right now. Sturm is as much a joke as Chavez. The guy basically lost his last 4 fights biggest fights. How he's a mando for a belt is beyond me

He also got numerous decisions go his way as well let's not forget. Either way, it's a dumb move on Barker's part. He could easily set up a good money making defense, a domestic fight, then go on to bigger things. Sturm is nothing right now. Sturm not being with Universum anymore seems to have made judges less biased. And Barker can't avoid Sturm without losing his belt. He's the mandatory.

and yeah, Sturm hasn't gotten the benefit of the doubt in the past few fights even though they were close enough for Sturm to be winner without any controvery. Draw ith Murray, loss to Geale, and a loss to Soliman.

I remember reading that Sturm's TV deal with SAT1 doesn't allow him to fight anywhere but in Germany so likely they put up a ton of money to get it done there. If it had gone to purse bid, Sturm would have probably won anyway. and yeah, Sturm hasn't gotten the benefit of the doubt in the past few fights even though they were close enough for Sturm to be winner without any controversy. Draw with Murray, loss to Geale, and a loss to Soliman.

As everyone has said already, this seems to be a great financial deal for Barker, he is 30+ now and all the injuries his had will soon start adding up. I'm not sure ho much longer his body will hold up so he might as well make the most of it. I think Sturm is on the slide and if Barker boxes as well as I know he can, behind the jab and using his right hand as a weapon, he should win a decision, pretty clear in my opinion. I think this is all building up to a Macklin clash in 2014.

btw I think Sturm takes this one. He knows this is his very last chance. He'll be in superb form and he's overall better fighter, although he slowed down in the last 2 years.

Poor move by Hearn. Expect a robbery in Germany. Man, i wish GGG got in the ring with sturm to end his career. There is a rematch clause, 75% profit for barker and independent judges. Sounds like pretty good deal to me. Also they gonna earn much more money in Germany than in UK.