Darren Barker......

[Maelstrom]

Larry Sharpe; Barker beat Sharpe more emphatically then Dann did. Yes, Dann managed to stop Sharpe, but only after he had struggled to look good against him. Barker won every round against Sharpe (except the last one when he took the foot off the gas to coast home).

Paul Samuels; Yes, Samuels may have rocked Barker for a split second, but the fact that the following left hook Barker threw knocked out Samuels and left him on the canvas needing oxygen puts that fight in perspective. Barker surely wasn't too shaken if he was able to do that?

Conroy McIntosh; The thing that annoys about the McIntosh fight, is that people forget that McIntosh did exactly the same to Paul Smith in his previous fight, but no-one ever talks about that. The difference is Barker went on to stop McIntosh whilst Smith got off the floor and only managed to win on points. This is another reason why Darren Barker is seen as a better fighter then Paul Smith.




Unfortunately Darren won't be fighting for the British title in his next fight as Wayne Elcock will be defending the title against Jason McKay on the Froch v Pascal undercard on 6 December...........but Darren Barker's time WILL come!

Sorry scrap, but you are struggling for justifications there.

1) He beat Sharpe more emphatically? Dann stopped him!!!! Besides, Dann was handling him just as well as Barker.
2) Watch the Samuels fight - he wasn't expecting the punch. It was contraversial.
3) If Paul Smith is Barkers yard stick, then we are all in trouble.

The point is, I said he was good. I just dont think he is top, top class. With a true world class prospect, you wouldnt have to be making these justifications. Particulalry the McIntosh one. He was almost beaten by a journeyman.

[Autobarn]

I'm not sure Barker is on his way to world class. Frankly, I'd be happy to see him in any number of good fights on the domestic, Commonwealth & Euro scenes. I don't much want to see him vs guys like Larry Sharpe. But to see him in with Duddy, Lee, maybe Jamie Moore, Bradley Pryce, Macklin, etc etc - now that would be good.

[Dioufy]

After Sharpe (who I consider a very decent win by the way) he should be going after more recognised names. I don't want to see him beating up guys like Bendall and Crampton anymore. I think he should be going after someone who would probably handily beat those guys too. I now know that Elcock is busy on the Froch undercard, so I would hope that a fight with somebody like Asikainen (who does have a very good win over Sylvester), Duddy, Lee or even Macklin. I wouldn't let a fight with Moore happen just yet - I would leave that to happen when Barker is more experienced. Or even when he has a major-ish belt (British or some international belt).

[ciscokid]

Larry Sharpe; Barker beat Sharpe more emphatically then Dann did. Yes, Dann managed to stop Sharpe, but only after he had struggled to look good against him. Barker won every round against Sharpe (except the last one when he took the foot off the gas to coast home).

Barker did look good against Sharpe, but to suggest Barkers performance was any better than Dann's is bollocks. - I have the fight on DVD if you want to watch it. From memory Scott won every round (according to boxrec Barker lost 3). and broke Sharpe's nose with the uppercut that took him out. From memory Sharpe caught Scott in the 7th and they exchanged blows, but on slow motion none of these landed. In between one of the rounds Sharpe asked his corner what round it was!!?!? After the fight I chatted to Sharpe for a few hours - he was a really sound bloke and was pissed that he lost the fight, but said that he was getting battered in there and just couldn't continue...

I think both Dann and Barker should have stopped Sharpe earlier - Sharpe isn't a schooled boxer - he's an ex alcoholic kick boxer, who frankly isn't great.

Ditto Dioufy + Autobarn - I hope Barker gets a shot at a better calibre

[scrap iron]

I have to confess I can't remember too much of the Scott Dann fight, but when Larry Sharpe was announced as Barker's opponent Lenny, Tom Podmore and a few others on this forum said they remembered Sharpe having Dann hurt. Barker never looked in trouble against Sharpe in his fight, but you've got the Dann fight on DVD mate, so maybe what I heard was wrong.


I'm a big fan of Darren's so maybe I am a bit bias, but I think there is enough domestic opposition to keep him busy in the UK for the next two or three years. If he was able to fight and emphatically beat guys like Elcock, Macklin, McDermott etc then I think most people would agree he could be something a bit special. So when (and hopefully not if) those fights are made we know exactly how good Darren is.

I still think he's a class act.

[Autobarn]

I thought Barker looked a bit "off" against Sharpe. Still won convincingly, but he didn't look as sharp or as happy or comfortable in there as normal.

[DuranTheGreat]

You are all forgetting something.....
Barker was up until 3 A.M. having medical checks, and at one point the fight was called off, BUT, Barker got through and ended up winning EVERY round against Sharpe, except the last where he just eased of to cruise home.
Guys, every time Barker has been put in with an experienced fighter he's won convincingly, and when he's been in trouble he's come back to stop his opponent..... signs of a true champion.

[Maelstrom]

I have to confess I can't remember too much of the Scott Dann fight, but when Larry Sharpe was announced as Barker's opponent Lenny, Tom Podmore and a few others on this forum said they remembered Sharpe having Dann hurt. Barker never looked in trouble against Sharpe in his fight, but you've got the Dann fight on DVD mate, so maybe what I heard was wrong.

So your argument was based on hearsay!

[leforge]

When will he fight next?

[scrap iron]

You are all forgetting something.....
Barker was up until 3 A.M. having medical checks, and at one point the fight was called off, BUT, Barker got through and ended up winning EVERY round against Sharpe, except the last where he just eased of to cruise home.
Guys, every time Barker has been put in with an experienced fighter he's won convincingly, and when he's been in trouble he's come back to stop his opponent..... signs of a true champion.

Exactly, a lot of fighters would have pulled out after going through what Barker did. I think the fact he was kept up until 3am on the day of the fight before being passed fit would have caused him a great deal of stress and fatigue. Can you imagine Joe Calzaghe or Ricky Hatton putting up with that type of thing?

Hopefully Barker will be back to his best when he makes his ITV debut later this year.

[simonsays]

He is learning all the time and you would rather a fighter make these mistakes (Mcintosh and Samuels) at the early stages of his career and get through them and still look good whilst learning and gaining important experience (Khan for example didnt). since them so called mistakes how accomplished has he looked, clearly outpointing tough aussie Crampton and completing his first 12 rounder (great experience), He clearly outclassed bendall on the way to stopping him and after all the agro he had the night before he still managed to look impressive in his north american debut against a tough opponent. I have met Darren a couple of times at york hall and he honestly belives he can go all the way and I think with the way he is improving I would not bet against him.

[scrap iron]

I have to confess I can't remember too much of the Scott Dann fight, but when Larry Sharpe was announced as Barker's opponent Lenny, Tom Podmore and a few others on this forum said they remembered Sharpe having Dann hurt. Barker never looked in trouble against Sharpe in his fight, but you've got the Dann fight on DVD mate, so maybe what I heard was wrong.

So your argument was based on hearsay!

The only bit which you could say was based on hearsay was regarding how well Dann did against Sharpe. I've seen everyone of Darren's fights, but only a few of Dann's. But Tom Podmore is usually spot on with his comments. I think Lenny and Bennie also said Sharpe had Dann shaken. I'm happy for other people to say whether or not Dann was hurt in that fight, but I find it hard to believe all three of these posters were being delusional regarding Dann being hurt against Sharpe. If I'm wrong, I'm wrong, but I was ringside the night Dann got sparked out in three rounds by a guy who Darren regularly sparred with; Howard Eastman. Dann was also knocked out by Jon Penn.

[ciscokid]

If I'm wrong, I'm wrong, but I was ringside the night Dann got sparked out in three rounds by a guy who Darren regularly sparred with; Howard Eastman. Dann was also knocked out by Jon Penn.

What's the fact that you being sat ringside for the Eastman fight got to do with you commenting on a fight you can't remember much about?? If you were at the Eastman fight you would have seen Scott win the 1st two rnds (according to the BBC pundits) and catch Eastman at the end of rnd 2 with a punch that caused Eastman to clench. Eastman also said at the end of the fight that Scott was the best Middleweight in the UK...

Mate - It's great that your passoniate about Barker and he seems a good boxer but what's with your beef with Scott?