And the new... Darren barker!

Barker is cunning, Mundine is slip slop slap, Sturm is structured, Geale got ****y, undisciplined but did enough to beat a touched up UK sob story :|

 

I'll throw this one out there. Anyone think Geale may have overtrained? At the weigh-in he looked more ripped than I remember seeing him. Which suggests to me he may have trained his but off all the way upto the weigh-in.
I don't like seeing fighters too ripped. When I watch a fight between two fighters that I've never seen fight, say on espn or something, if one of them is super ripped I'll often back the other to win. My logic is that the ripped one has worked too hard to make weight and has had no tapering off period. Therefore once he get's hurt he'll find it too hard to recover because he's tanks already half empty from the opening bell.
Look at Sakio Bika. He's super ripped at Super-Middle. I personally believe ever having him campaign at Middle was stupidity. I told everyone who'd listen back when he was at Middle that if he went up a division he'd wreck havoc. I reckon I was right.
Danny Green's another example. Strongest and most powerful SuperMiddle the division had seen in a long time. But as Marcus Beyer showed, if you can stand up to his power, over twelves rounds he didn't have the tank. Green considers that he over trained for that fight to be a fact.
I reckon Fenech made the mistake with a few of his fighters campaigning at too light a weight division. He had an incredible ability to quickly recover from a tough weigh-in. But that ability is a rarity in most fighters.
I could be way off the mark. But I did start wondering about this sought of thing when I saw the weigh-in. Maybe if he took the metal off the pedal a bit more close to the fight that he could have stopped Barker in the sixth or pinched just one more of the close rounds they gave to Barker which would have won Geale the fight

 

I did think he looked gaunt at the weigh in Boom. Eyes sunk into his skull. I couldn't imagine that he had trouble making weight though - maybe I am wrong. Then there's the 22 hours on a plane to get to the Eastern seaboard of the US. Over training is a good point. The pace he set against Sturm was stunning and it was what won him the fight. I am not willing to absolutely suggest this was an issue because it's never been an issue before. There is real credit to other theories that Barker simply took away his advantage with his getting off first and clinching (not to mention leaning on his head and neck - sounds like sour grapes hence my reluctance to bring it up often). Whatever it was, he must go back look at everything, reassess and readjust if need be.

The worst weigh in gauntness/weigh drain I have seen in Tszyu against Hatton. He looked like a corpse with eyes and Katsidis against Burns. I know he's a tad punch drunk but seeing an interview just after he got off the scales, he sounded disabled, not to mention look like a chemo patient. Honorable mention, Cotto against Malinaggi.

There's gotta be an easier way to make a quid......

 

Geale lacked his Leyton Hewett....for some reason.....

 

After the knock down, Barker continuously got off first.

Barker continued to get off first and deserved the win.

It was a close fight. I had it for Geale, only because I thought you had to take the belt off the champ, but it was close fight, I thought it was a good fight.

 

No ifs or butts :blurp it is what it is :happy Geale did enough, Barker's a sook :| 50/50 IBF champ gets the nod O hang on the fight was in America us of @ :emma thought it was neutral ground.

 

Still a germ `:| sook...

 

I like both lads. I remember seeing Barker against Lee Wicks early on in his career on a bill headlined by Ajose promoted by Derrick Williams. He impressed me and I have kept an eye on him ever since. I also had the pleasure of sharing a flight with him last year to Vegas and the MGM to watch Mayweather and Cotto and we were able to chat. He knows my high opinion of him and Groves which I shared with him.

 

It's funny the Geale fan's couldn't wait to get on here and give it to the Mundine fans after Geale beat him, but now that Geale has been exposed by a scrub like Barker they go MIA.

 

I have given Barker credit and to be fair Geale didn't carry on like Mundine did after a clear loss. Most Aussie posters are banned from here and posting elsewhere now.