BoxRec

Darren's return to the ring is scheduled for 05th October 2007 at York Hall, East London. Darren is also scheduled to fight at the Nottingham Arena on 02nd November 2007.

The 2002 Commonwealth gold medallist will appear on the undercard of Carl Froch's clash with former WBC world champion Robin Reid. Froch will be defending his British super-middleweight title. No Opponents have been named yet for either bout.

Darren is currently training at the Hennessy Camp in France and is in a good fighting shape. It is Darrens 1st fight of 2007 after time out from the boxing ring.

Nice to see him back.

big step for darren, coming back to boxing after his brothers tragic accident, best wishes darren and win a title for your brother...

Yes, that was tragic news.

I do hope after a few warm ups Danny does give Paul Samuels a rematch (if Samuels is still boxing).

Good luck Darren. You have been missed and best wishes for the future.

Really good to see the lad back. Excellent news, I hope he fulfils the expectations some have put in him. Although I feel he has some flaws.

Great news. Great prospect.

Best wishes to Barker. I hope he gets some good breaks. The talent is definitely there.

Albert wrote:Really good to see the lad back. Excellent news, I hope he fulfils the expectations some have put in him. Although I feel he has some flaws.

The only real flaw you could possibly throw at Darren is maybe his chin. But if you take a closer look at the knockdown he suffered against Conroy McIntosh, you notice the punch hit him quite high on the head which is a shot which can disorientate even durable boxers and he did show the good sense to cling on until his head had cleared. He was also hurt against Paul Samuels, but the fact he knocked out Samuels with the very next punch after briefly touching down showed good recovery time. David Haye was knocked down against Lolenga Mock and stopped by Carl Thompson earlier on in his career, but he is now widely regarded as one of our best fighters.
With former rival prospects Anthony Small, Matthew Hall and Gary Woolcombe all being knocked out or stopped this year, Darren is the last man left standing. Once the ring rust has been shaken off, a fight with British champion Howard Eastman could be relatively easy to make considering they are both from the same promotional camp. And with Howard being ripe for the taking now, there is a good chance Darren Barker will be British middleweight champion in 2008.

He looked a million dollars on the undercard of Thaxton-Stewart, but you have to take into account his opponent was SEVERELY out of his depth.

Having won the southern area title over 10 rounds, I think he's ready for a final eliminator already.

Barker against Darren McDermott, Paul Smith or Macklin (who I think should get in line for a crack at the British, not just jump the queue) should all equal a top match.

With Eastman probably out of the picture, the middleweight scene is open.

I think he's a major talent and he has an excellent style. Don't see too many middleweights anywhere with that kind of punch variety.

I think he'd do well with Elcock after a decent 8 rounder. I think his chin is suspect but makes him all the more exciting to watch I suppose.