Sergio Martinez vs Iran Barkley

[Perfect Plex]

@ 160lb. Both at there best who wins?

[Steak]

imo Barkley would have KOed him. too much punching power, durability, and stamina. Barkley would have continually pressured Martinez and forced the fight on the inside. Martinez doesnt seem to have fantastic stamina to me, and although his counterpunching is good I think Barkley would have mostly only started punching when he had forced his way on the inside, and Martinez isnt the best there.

lets not forget what a somewhat similiar fighter(Margarito) did to Martinez.

If Barkley could force his way through a Hearns barrage to win, I dont think Martinez could keep him off.

[EMSLDB]

I got the blade by 10 tko Martinez would have success early with quick counters but he tends to slow down in the middle of fights and the blade would do damage there and stop him late

[sonnyboyx2]

Barkley KO7

[katsidis]

IMO Sergio outboxes him all night long, bad styke matchup for Barkley.

[BG_Knocc_Out]

Barkley by late KO/TKO. Sergio doesn't have that great of stamina, and against a guy like Barkley, he'll take advantage of that.

[slicksouthpaw16]

imo Barkley would have KOed him. too much punching power, durability, and stamina. Barkley would have continually pressured Martinez and forced the fight on the inside. Martinez doesnt seem to have fantastic stamina to me, and although his counterpunching is good I think Barkley would have mostly only started punching when he had forced his way on the inside, and Martinez isnt the best there.

lets not forget what a somewhat similiar fighter(Margarito) did to Martinez.

If Barkley could force his way through a Hearns barrage to win, I dont think Martinez could keep him off.

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.

[Steak]

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.

I dont know man. If Hearns couldnt put an oncoming Barkley down, I dont think Martinez does, especially seeing as Barkley preferred to keep his guard up and march in with shorter shots a lot of the time that would be very difficult to counter.

someone that could actually counter Barkley at close range could give Barkley fits, but Martinez sort of is nullified the second Barkley gets inside...from there I think Barkley could pretty much wail away on Martinez while Martinez tries to grab.
I still think Martinez fades out as well if hes pushed too much, his stamina isnt the best. And Barkley brought on some pretty unbelievable pressure.

Also....Barkley gave Nunn a very rough night, and Nunn imo is significantly better than Martinez. I dont think Barkley would be troubled by the southpaw stance too much.

[BennyST]

IMO Sergio outboxes him all night long, bad styke matchup for Barkley.

You know what? It's really not. Martinez is actually pretty easy to hit and often manages to get into exchanges too much. He would have early success, get into it, start fighting a bit, get knocked down and it would turn into a brawl in the mid to late rounds and Barkley would slowly break him down and knock him out late.

Barkley was huge as a middleweight and hit like a monster. Martinez doesn't punch hard or frequently enough to keep Barkley from getting in and hammering away.

I think it would be an amazing fight actually.

[slicksouthpaw16]

Good point about Martinez being neutralised when Barkley gets close, but i have noticed instances where Martinez has shown the ability to throw short shots. The knockdown against Williams in their first fight was from a short right hook and the knockout in the rematch was a short right hook also. He threw some in instances against Bunema too. I believe he only throws it when he sees a clear opening, which i feel Barkley would give due to his over agression (which led to his downfall against Benn). I think it would be target practice early for Martinez, with things heating up in the later rounds due to Martinez's stamina as you mentioned. On the Nunn fight, i personally feel he handled Barkley pretty much the way he wanted to and was even holding his own inside. Why the scores were so close is beyond me. I do agree about Nunn being better than Martinez though.