BoxRec

Considering his fight was nearly called off and he was up very late the night before having to take secondary tests to be passed fit to fight, I thought Darren Barker did remarkably well to put all those distractions aside and impress in his American debut. Apart from the final round when he was happy to coast home, Darren seem to win every round against Larry Sharpe. Barker hurt the Canadian with head shots in round two and three, had Sharpe reeling again in round seven and looking winded from body shots in round eight. Darren's slashing punches also produced cuts over his opponent's right eye and nose.
I scored it 99-91.
I think Darren Barker is now the best prospect we have in the UK, next to Amir Khan and Kevin Mitchell.
I also think Fight Network did a great broadcast and I would definitely watch that channel again for boxing.

Can you elaborate on the fight nearly being called off, and doubts that Barker was fit to fight?

I had him winning every round - his accuracy and fluidity were remarkable. I gave him a big chance against Elcock.

Excellent win for Barker. Boxed with authority throughout the ten rounder against an improved opponent. Sharpe looked an altogether better fighter than the one who came over here to challenge Dann, but still not good enough to trouble Barker.

Barker cruised through the ten rounds impressively. Lack of punch may hold him back beyond EBU level, but he's ready to topple any British middleweight right now!

Elcock, McDermott, Smith, Bendall (again...I noticed some delusional comments from Bendall in the aftermath of his loss to Barker), Eastman etc

Autobarn wrote:Can you elaborate on the fight nearly being called off, and doubts that Barker was fit to fight?

Details are a bit of a mystery, my understanding is Barker failed the pre-fight medical the day before the fight, but Hennessy Sports disputed the results of the tests and asked for a second opinion. Another round of tests was carried out which went late into the night with the local commission threatening to scrap the contest. However after these second tests were performed, Barker was passed fit to fight and the contest was declared back on.

All I can say is if Darren can fight like that when he wasn't fully fit and only having a few hours sleep the night before, then I am very impressed.

I really feel Darren Barker is operating on a higher level compared to his British rivals.

Another prospect getting little or no recognition compared to a certain "PPV superstar" we have!!

Dioufy wrote:I gave him a big chance against Elcock.

Yeah, Barker would beat Elcock now.

Yes, I enjoyed the show and Barker looked good. The "play by play" guy (as the americans call them) looked so much like Glenn Catley - I thought it was him with a phony accent for ages!

I was a little dissapointed that it seemed like the only British Middleweights that exist were Lee, Duddy and Macklin.

Finally finished watching this last night - Impressive performance by Barker, on that performance I think he would do Elcock, although only on points. Best British prospect at the moment.

Commentators were terrible.

Barker did well under the cirsumstances. BUT - he didn't look that dazzling this time, and you have to wonder about his physical strength & punching power.

What was wrong?

Does anyone see any similarities between Darren and Calzaghe in how they attack? I see a lot of similar things, albeit the chin's not there and, obviously, the hand speed.

Apparently the docs were not happy that Barkers resting heartrate was 34..... i think thats what was in boxing news

Dioufy wrote:Does anyone see any similarities between Darren and Calzaghe in how they attack? I see a lot of similar things, albeit the chin's not there and, obviously, the hand speed.

Yes, I thought that. At first I thought it was because they looked alike.....dark hair, slim and lean, both wearing black shorts with white trimming etc.....but yeah, I did notice similarities.

easy manna