Did he? Both had little to no chance. Both now have little to no chance of getting on tv in America again. Both would have had realistic chances of winning against other champions in there division. I do like what he's doing with kell brook, shows in Sheffield to build a fanbase. But I don't think he's deserving of the amount of praise he gets on here
I think the did the best thing possible for Barker. It leaves the fate in the hands of the fighter. I think Barker put in a boring showing, but I see no reason why HBO wouldn't look to match him up with say, Andy Lee.Barker took a few rounds and went into the 11th round. He gave a good showing without actually giving a good showing. Barker actually fought for THE World title. Not a 'world title'. Fair play to Hearn, and Barker. I think Barker stank the joint out BTW ;-)
And McCloskey has obviously benefitted from a bigger profile post-Khan, put in a dreadful showing but suffered no lasting damage.