BoxRec

And so Darren Barker regains his (was vacant) European Title after a convincing victory over Domenico Spada (was ranked 7th by WBC).

But where does "Dazzling" Darren go from here? What why does the land lie in the ever-changing Middleweight division?
As of today:

WBC Champion: Vacant (decider between J.C. Chavez Jr & Zbik)
WBA Champion: Vacant (decider between Golovkin & Ouma)
WBO Champion: Dmitry Pirog
IBF Champion: Sebastian Sylvester (upcoming defence against Geale)

Can Barker go one step further an become a world champion?

Barker turns 29 later this month, and you would have to say that he's on the wrong side of hsi career (age-wise).

Do I think Barker has the talent to become a world champion?
In all honesty, I don't think he's good enough. There are just too many fighters at Middleweight who are better than him.

When you look at the likes of: Martinez, Sturm, Pirog and Sylvester who I would say have the better of Barker.

And when you look at the likes of N'jikam and Rubio, I am not convicned that Barker has the tools to beat them.

If I were his mangement, I would line up his first European title defence against Martin Murray or Julien Sainte.

And maybe look at a Macklin fight for his second title defence.

I do think that Barker could beat Golvkin or Ouma, but he'sa work in progress and he does need to beat the above three European fighter to finally get on the world title stage.

like you said his a work in progress, yes i believe barker will become world champion in the next couple of years

barker vs mcewan would be a nice fight. england vs scotland

In all honesty yes i do. Take martinez out of the equation and the middleweight division seems quite light. Ok pirog would more than likely have barkers number but Zbik, Chavez jr,Golovkin and Ouma are more than beatable for him. In the meantime a few routine defences against Craig Mcewan, and Sebastien Sylvester would be a good indication of whether he is ready. Then add to this a match up against david Lemieux, or Sam soliman or peter manfredo for that added exposure and then he is in line for a title shot beautifully. Could even go for a vacant IBO initially against a sergio mora.

Good shout with Sylvester, if he loses his title to Geale that would be a brilliant matchup for him to progress him to world level, if Sylvester beats Geale then someone like Oral or even Dzinzurk would be a fight that would really let us know if he was a world level operator and serve as a defence of his European. I think, apart from Martinez, all the world Middleweight Champions are definetly beatable, though all would be really tough fights for Barker I think he could win them. Pirog looked very poor in his last defence but i think they should try and get the winner of Zbik/Chavez for Barker.

Sylyvester is the easiest touch out of that group. Martinez and Sturm would bee to strong for Barker.

It is not exactly a division bursting with the best really and Barker stands a great chance if he is matched well.

If this fight wasn't in Germany and Sylvester wasn't as protected as he is I'd actually fancy Geale to beat him. Another dodgy SD win for the German could be on the way.

I agree that Sebastien Sylvester is the weak link at the moment and Darren might shade it against him in a neutral venue or in the UK.

But, like a few others who've posted, I think he'll move up to world level but I'm not totally convinced he's got what it takes to be a strong world champ. He's a very classy boxer and I really like watching him, but his inability to stop people - either through one punch KO power or cumulative assaults - worries me. A comparison with Froch is interesting - Barker might even have the edge on skills, but he doesn't have Carl's power or balls, which enable him to mix it with the very best in the SMW division.

I'm not drawing conclusions from the Spada fight - it was in many ways a typical Euro level fight between a talented guy on the up and a hard as nails, rugged but ultimately limited opponent. Barker might even find it easier to look good against a more skillful opponent who tries to box. I really hope he does, but I'm not totally convinced.

I think that Barker will win a world title I think that he would stand a chance with most of the champions now & although Martinez his is quality he is also 36 & time might just catch up with him.

Think Barker deserves a chance. He should look for another fight then a title shot by the end of the year as he has been too inactive over the last couple of years. Winner of Sylvester v Geale will be a good place to start, although he may have to travel like Macklin to do it.

Crease wrote:Sylvester who I would say have the better of Barker.



I do think that Barker could beat Golvkin or Ouma, but he'sa work in progress and he does need to beat the above three European fighter to finally get on the world title stage.

Mate, Golovkin is a damn sight better than Sylvester IMO. With the plethora of belts out there and more than one champion per organisation, i definitely think he could pick up a belt somewhere. I'd give him a good chance against Zbik or chavez jnr. But against the very best of the division, the true world champion (i.e Martinez) I think he'll be found wanting. But then again so would most guys in the division: that's why he's the no.1!

World champion he reminded me of froch by his performance on sat, ok Martinez would beat him at the min and maybe pirog but everyone else he's got at least a 50/50 chance
He made a believer out of me with his bout sat , great performance

Very good performance - wider than the judges had it, and Spada is definitely no mug.

I reckon Barker would do Pirog over 12 no problems.

I'm always hesitant to say a fighter wins with "no problems" unless they are taking on someone who is obviously overmatched. Pirog is much better than someone Barker recently struggled with (Belghecham) and he is better than Spada as well, so I'm not sure what that type of hyperbole is based on.

The MW titlists are abundant and overall not too impressive, so Barker would have a chance to pick up a belt. I can see him beating guys like Pirog, Zbik, SS, etc. but I can also him losing to all of them. It's a pretty competitive division outside Martinez, who is a level above any other fighter.

crusader wrote:I'm always hesitant to say a fighter wins with "no problems" unless they are taking on someone who is obviously overmatched. Pirog is much better than someone Barker recently struggled with (Belghecham) and he is better than Spada as well, so I'm not sure what that type of hyperbole is based on.

Its not hyperbole, its an opinion, and its based on watching their last performances. I thought Pirog looked well dodgy against the argentinian.

Pirog didn't look great, but he clearly won the fight by a wide margin. I just don't see a gap in class big enough for one guy to win without having the slightest bit of trouble. I imagine at the least Barker would be given a few problems by Pirog's extremely awkward southpaw style.

Spada is a solid fighter, but hardly anything special, and I don't think Barker should be elevated to a completely different level than Pirog simply by beating Spada.

Maybe i'm just being a bit patriotic then

I think Barker could have more chance against Sturm than Macklin.
He's a better boxer on the outside and uses his speed/reach with nice straight combinations.
I'd hate to see Barker against Martinez and Pirog would walk through his work too

Macklin, Murray, Rubio - Fair to good chance of outboxing those 3.

N'Jikam, Chavez, Sturm, Zbik, Sylvester and Geale - 50/50.

All of the wishful thinking in the world couldn't change my view on how he'd get on with Martinez, Pirog and Golovkin though. All end badly for Barker imo.

also forgetting when Matt Korobov steps up