Datsue wrote:Nice post Q, covered all the bases. I agree with your reading of the fight & its potential effect on Darren's career.
I'd only add that I thought Martinez looked genuinely out of sorts, for whatever reason, but he still ground down the man in front of him. Good champ. Don't know about all the P4P bollocks but he's a champion willing to take on anyone, it seems & is a worthy holder of the title (my imaginary middleweight title, which I suppose makes me as bad as the p4p ninnies. Ho-hum).
p4p bollocks? he's beaten pavlik and destroyed dzinzituk and paul williams. one unimpressive performance doesn't make him overrated.
i hope he fights macklin nedt. isn't macklin fighting next month on his dibella / HBO debut?
Datsue wrote:Nice post Q, covered all the bases. I agree with your reading of the fight & its potential effect on Darren's career.
I'd only add that I thought Martinez looked genuinely out of sorts, for whatever reason, but he still ground down the man in front of him. Good champ. Don't know about all the P4P bollocks but he's a champion willing to take on anyone, it seems & is a worthy holder of the title (my imaginary middleweight title, which I suppose makes me as bad as the p4p ninnies. Ho-hum).
p4p bollocks? he's beaten pavlik and destroyed dzinzituk and paul williams. one unimpressive performance doesn't make him overrated.
i hope he fights macklin nedt. isn't macklin fighting next month on his dibella / HBO debut?
I'm pretty sure he means the whole P4P argument is bollocks and if he does I tend to agree.
Datsue wrote:Nice post Q, covered all the bases. I agree with your reading of the fight & its potential effect on Darren's career.
I'd only add that I thought Martinez looked genuinely out of sorts, for whatever reason, but he still ground down the man in front of him. Good champ. Don't know about all the P4P bollocks but he's a champion willing to take on anyone, it seems & is a worthy holder of the title (my imaginary middleweight title, which I suppose makes me as bad as the p4p ninnies. Ho-hum).
p4p bollocks? he's beaten pavlik and destroyed dzinzituk and paul williams. one unimpressive performance doesn't make him overrated.
i hope he fights macklin nedt. isn't macklin fighting next month on his dibella / HBO debut?
I'm pretty sure he means the whole P4P argument is bollocks and if he does I tend to agree.
Yes that is what I meant.
People who seriously give a shite about P4P need to step up.
I've got to be honest and say that after 10 rounds I had it dead even. I try to review the fight afterwards and award the round to punches landed ,so on that basis I had it 5 rounds each . I didn't score for punches landing on Barkers gloves .
I thought Barker did very well and is apparently a really nice person - and I think that is the problem . I'm convinced a Eubank ,Calzaghe or a Collins could have got up and fought on because their attitude ,although stunned , would have been ' Where is the b****** till I get at him ' instead of ' I'm finished ' .
I think he would beat sturm and pirog after seeing that peformance, not sure about chavez because i havent seen him fight before. But he proved he was world class, i think he might have made it to the end of the fight but perferated ear drum messes up your balance and hurts like hell so once that had happened it was game over.
The fight showed Darrens strengths which are his excellent boxing skills, and his limitations which are carrying his power up to top level and staying strong for the full 12 rounds. Darren would give Chavez Jr, Sturm and Macklin serious fights, and he can pick up a world title
obviously barker boxed very well. but he didn't seem to force the fight very hard - not so much intensity. anyone think macklin - with his pressure - would make a better foil for martinez? i hope macklin is making noise for this fight as i'd hate to see andy lee get the opportunity first, just for beating some guy called vera.
Autobarn wrote:obviously barker boxed very well. but he didn't seem to force the fight very hard - not so much intensity. anyone think macklin - with his pressure - would make a better foil for martinez? i hope macklin is making noise for this fight as i'd hate to see andy lee get the opportunity first, just for beating some guy called vera.
Aye, Vera Lynn is a tougher proposition these days. Macklin next in theory but I suspect that Floyds watched it all unfold and thought, ‘Time for me to add a 160lb scalp to my resume and trump Manny.’
Martinez-Floyd for next spring?
Apparently Hopkins wants to fight Martinez at 170lbs or a catch weight and Martinez didn't seem to keen because of the weight issue, but i can see a Mayweather - Martinez fight happenning at a catch weight, 150lbs for Floyd and 154lbs for Martinez......
Autobarn wrote:obviously barker boxed very well. but he didn't seem to force the fight very hard - not so much intensity. anyone think macklin - with his pressure - would make a better foil for martinez? i hope macklin is making noise for this fight as i'd hate to see andy lee get the opportunity first, just for beating some guy called vera.
Aye, Vera Lynn is a tougher proposition these days. Macklin next in theory but I suspect that Floyds watched it all unfold and thought, ‘Time for me to add a 160lb scalp to my resume and trump Manny.’
Martinez-Floyd for next spring?
Interesting one - i think that would be a pretty straightforward night's work for PBF. Martinez reminded me of Hamed just before he retired - predictable and obsessed with loading up on every punch. I think Mayweather wld see him coming a mile off and outbox him quite easily.
Isn't Macklin with Lou Diabella now? What would that mean, in US promotional terms? Pirog?
Sturm is fighting Murray next, doesn't seem overly keen on rematch with Macklin.
EBU title is now in the hands of the Polish guy (can't remember his name) who beat Sylvester this weekend. Neither of them could contest it anyway, if you stick with the EBU rules.
I can't imagine either being overly keen on going back over old ground and picking up discarded titles for the 3rd or 4th time.
Saw Martinez beat Adrian Stone in Bristol in 2003 and thought he was brilliant, not so sure whether he was having an off night and might have dispatched Barker quicker or maybe looking past him.
Martinez would destroy Chavez Jr. and Jr. is only where he is through the WBC's back door shenanigans. Kiss Sulaiman's arse enough and I'd get a title myself!
Barker would deffo knock the stuffing out of Jr. too. That performance against the Argie was all about experience and he'll be better for it too.
That said. Lets not forget that Martinez is a blown up light-middle. A 36yr old guy surely at the tail end of his career.
A guy who's reputation is built on beating what alot of people consider the shell of an over-rated fighter ( Pavlik of course) and sparking out a guy that was at best a lt-middle ..and hung his chin out.
The middleweight division is very weak. Martinez is good rather than great.
Barker does stand a chance of winning a world title. There are so many out there.
But as good as he did - his limitations were shown.
I think he will get another chance - but he will always be chosen for his limitations.
I agree that it showed his limitations and it's a good point that he may be chosen as a future title opponent because of those limitations, but i think that the Martinez fight will improve Darren. He fought the best middleweight out there, in Atlantic City, with all the Larry Merchant razzamatazz and i'm thinking that the experince will serve him well when he gets another shot, in this country with a lesser alphabet champion.
