Sergio Martinez vs Iran Barkley

[BennyST]

To me this fight is a toss up but Martinez was very inexperienced when he fought Margarito. I dont think much should be taken from that fight, especially since he handled the pressure of Williams (who beat Margarito) pretty well. Barkleys size and power could give Martinez fits but Sergios foot and hand speed could be a problem as well. Martinez also has power of his own.

The pressure of Williams is different though. It's like an octopus coming at you just throwing non stop. Barkley is very different than that. He's constantly coming at you but it's not volume that was his forte, it was power.

Barkley also fought a lot of guys with great hand and foot speed and the only guy he couldn't catch much was a prime Sumbu Kalumbay who was a very, very different fighter than Sexy Serge and was much harder to catch inside or outside.

The way to beat Barkley was not moving and fighting on the outside. It was to stay inside his power and come straight up the middle with short shots. If you fought him on the outside it always ended up with him catching you because I think his skill and speed was much better than most thought. He actually had a very good jab and combinations and short, sneaky power punches and was a much better boxer than people give him credit for. Obviously he didn't use them all the time but they were there.

It wasn't like he was a Pavlik slow, plodding type. He was pretty bloody quick himself for a big power puncher.

Anyway, I see it being a slow fight to start with then becoming a real fight in the middle rounds as the power and pressure start to catch up with Martinez and he slow down and starts trading more. Then I see him getting knocked down and then out.

The Nunn fight is too different than how Martinez fights; Nunn was a freak defensively and one of the most difficult guys to hit of the past few decades. Barkley still gave him more trouble than most guys did. Nunn was also one of the tallest middleweights I've ever seen and used his height well. Martinez isn't hard to catch and would be smaller than Barkley. He gets lazy and always does this thing that when he has his hands down, he will only bring his right hand up and turn his head toward his right shoulder when the opponent gets in close, which is a recipe for disaster against that sneaky short left hook of Barkley's that caught so many unawares.

[Scott9945]

I think that Sergio wins in the mid rounds on cuts in what would be an interesting fight up until then.

[Steak]

The pressure of Williams is different though. It's like an octopus coming at you just throwing non stop. Barkley is very different than that. He's constantly coming at you but it's not volume that was his forte, it was power.

Barkley also fought a lot of guys with great hand and foot speed and the only guy he couldn't catch much was a prime Sumbu Kalumbay who was a very, very different fighter than Sexy Serge and was much harder to catch inside or outside.

The way to beat Barkley was not moving and fighting on the outside. It was to stay inside his power and come straight up the middle with short shots. If you fought him on the outside it always ended up with him catching you because I think his skill and speed was much better than most thought. He actually had a very good jab and combinations and short, sneaky power punches and was a much better boxer than people give him credit for. Obviously he didn't use them all the time but they were there.

It wasn't like he was a Pavlik slow, plodding type. He was pretty bloody quick himself for a big power puncher.

Anyway, I see it being a slow fight to start with then becoming a real fight in the middle rounds as the power and pressure start to catch up with Martinez and he slow down and starts trading more. Then I see him getting knocked down and then out.

The Nunn fight is too different than how Martinez fights; Nunn was a freak defensively and one of the most difficult guys to hit of the past few decades. Barkley still gave him more trouble than most guys did. Nunn was also one of the tallest middleweights I've ever seen and used his height well. Martinez isn't hard to catch and would be smaller than Barkley. He gets lazy and always does this thing that when he has his hands down, he will only bring his right hand up and turn his head toward his right shoulder when the opponent gets in close, which is a recipe for disaster against that sneaky short left hook of Barkley's that caught so many unawares.

Also dont forget about Barkley's counter left hook. that was always his answer when opponents decided to turn around and pressure him back. He hurt Duran with it, knocked out Darril Van Horn with it, dropped Thomas Hearns with it, and hurt Nunn with it on a few occasions, especially as Nunn was trying to pull away.

I think that if Martinez tried to pull away after going on the offense breifly, he would get caught with that counter left hook and probably hurt.

even though he handled Williams easily in the rematch, lets not forget Martinez went life and death with him in the 1st fight.

I thoguht Barkley did quite well against Nunn, able to outwork him in spots and even catch him with good shots despite how slippery Nunn was. I only had Barkley winning 3, maybe 4 rounds, but he put a lot of pressure on Nunn. especially considering that Barkley was 6-1 underdog and people thought Nunn was going to wipe the floor with him early.

Im also pretty sure that when Sergio loses in the somewhat near future his stock will go down.

[BennyST]

Also dont forget about Barkley's counter left hook. that was always his answer when opponents decided to turn around and pressure him back. He hurt Duran with it, knocked out Darril Van Horn with it, dropped Thomas Hearns with it, and hurt Nunn with it on a few occasions, especially as Nunn was trying to pull away.

I think that if Martinez tried to pull away after going on the offense breifly, he would get caught with that counter left hook and probably hurt.

even though he handled Williams easily in the rematch, lets not forget Martinez went life and death with him in the 1st fight.

I thoguht Barkley did quite well against Nunn, able to outwork him in spots and even catch him with good shots despite how slippery Nunn was. I only had Barkley winning 3, maybe 4 rounds, but he put a lot of pressure on Nunn. especially considering that Barkley was 6-1 underdog and people thought Nunn was going to wipe the floor with him early.

Im also pretty sure that when Sergio loses in the somewhat near future his stock will go down.

Yep. That's the one I'm thinking of. It was a great shot. That's how he got Olijade from memory too. Beautiful short counter hook.

[Suckmedry]

I would predict Sergio taking the early rounds, with the mid ones turning into a war. The late rounds would be all about who has the most heart imo, and both guys have plenty in that department.

One thing to keep in mind is that Barkley cut, and Sergio is exactly the type of sharp puncher who can slice you up.