I love Barker, he seems a really nice chap and has a good set of skills, but he does not always looks impressive in the ring. Martinez is top 3 or 4 p4p at the mo and its easy to see why in his recent performances. Barker has good ring intelligence and a good ability to see shots coming and avoid them, maybe he could frustrate Martinez and land a few counters and make the fight more difficult for martinez than he was expecting? But good luck dazzling!!
Carling is a nice sup, but I am more of a stella man! Having said though, these pain killers im on are pretty good too!:hi:
I don't think Barker has much beyond a punchers chance but I think it's the right fight at the right time. As previous posters have said - he has enough about him to make the fight competitive and he'll be written off by so many that his stock can only rise after this fight. There is no shame in being beaten by Sergio Martinez, it still allows him to go on and face the likes of Macklin and Lee whereas a loss to either of them at this stage of his career would be a step back. He will have his moments in this fight and he will dig deep and put on a brave performance and impress a lot of people and you'll also see him move up in the rankings with most of the sanctioning bodies. Who knows we might even get a bit of controversy..?
Good post, and agree with much of it, and like you, like Barkers attitude, but he is much less talented than Martinez, and add to that, Barkers never been in a big fight. I like Barker, but dont really rate him at that sort of level. I think he's getting stopped earlyish.
Basically, Martinez is really, REALLY good. He's grown into 160lbs, he sits down on his shots more (and he can crack), and I don't think Barker will have seen anyone like him. The only times he's been beaten were when he was way too young at the wrong weight against Margarito (a man he'd have beaten the **** out of even when Margo hit his peak), and in a dubious decision against Williams. I really like Darren, he's a really nice guy and I hope he does well to set up more fights at world level, but I can't see him beating Sergio.
Well argued, I'd love barker to do it but for all his class defensively he makes mistakes and at some stage Martinez will chin him IMO
i getting sick of getting drawn into false hope by underdog british fighters. ryan rhodes getting pummeled by canelo was the last straw for me. hes gonna lose but at least i just pray its competitive!!!
I think Barker will get stopped but to answer your questions - yes. Of course he has a chance. I might be that the chance is slim but when 2 boxers are in a ring anything is possible. Barker has a chance also because I think he is underestimated. He has not got the ko power though but he could nick a couple of rounds. I will certainly watch with interest. My money is on a stoppage in the championship rounds because I think it will take Martinez a while to figure out Barker and his good footwork.
Was Ricky Burns not an underdog when we won his belt? Also where is the false hope when 90% of the underdogs fans don't expect them to win anyway?
That Martinez was a limited slugger, so while Ricky was an underdog, it was also possible he could outbox him the way Nicky Cook did before getting splattered. This Martinez though... no chance.
course froch can win man......especially now with this cut................back him up and punish that cut....if it opens up..... stoppage.