Iran Barkley vs Sergio Martinez

The Blade by KO.

Martinez's chin was pretty fragile.

Barkley landed some shots on Nunn that would have stretched Martinez.

 

Tough fight. I do think Sergio is the more skilled boxer but I find myself agreeing with @Xplosive above. If Sergio can avoid danger he could win a decision....but I see Barkley TKO 9-10 as my most likely pick.

 

I think Martinez badly out manuevers Barkley and makes him pay with heavy counter punches. Barkley could put him down or land big shots to make it tense, but Martinez was outstanding and I think he would clearly win.

 

Martinez was incredibly overrated.

Nunn was better than Martinez by several miles and Barkley gave Nunn a competitive tussle.

We're talking about a guy who struggled with Matt Macklin.

Barkley runs him over.

 

I see Martinez losing this one. Barkley fought in a pretty good era. And he gave Nunn all he could handle.

 

Barkley beats him down.

 

I've said this before...Julio Cesar Chavez Jr. fights like Iran Barkley. By round 7 Sergio is telling him to "Cmon "

 

Please dont ever again insult Iran by comparing him to that bum Chavez Jr.

I'm sure Senior would disown that bum if he could.

 

Hmm, well I disagree with all of that, except that Nunn was better than Martinez. I don't know who overrates Martinez on here. In fact he rarely get's mentioned except as what he was: an outstanding champion with a Ring KOTY and FOTY to his credit, with a lengthy reign as the legit middleweight king, a reign which only ran into trouble when age and bum knees caught up to him. His reign was even more impressive given that he was fighting up a weight class.

I don't know why losing a few rounds to a longtime top contender like Macklin is a bad thing. Part of being a fighter is winning on an off night. Martinez adjusted mid-fight, sliced him up, and put him away. Again, if you think violently finishing a highly rated contender is a bad result, you and I might have a different way of looking at this sport.

I'm not trying to convince you that Sergio was an all time great. I'm just saying it doesn't make a ton of sense to say he easily runs through Martinez. Barkley made a huge mark on this sport across three divisions, but he had a ton of flaws that someone as capable as Martinez could wind up exploiting.

 

Iran would stomp a hole in Sergio's chest.

 

Martinez.

The 2009 -2012 Sergio was an excellent, and imo underrated fighter. He had excellent stamina, foot speed, hand speed, angles, and counterpunching. This is not the Sergio who cashed in on the Cotto fight on two bum knees at MSG. The Sergio from the 2009 1st Williams fight to the 12th round of the 2012 Chavez fight was the 3rd best fighter in the world. After the infamous 12th round with Chavez he declined quickly due to injuries. I saw Sergio fight Dzinziruk at Foxwoods in 2011 and Cotto at MSG in 2014. The 2014 Sergio was a shell of the fighter he was in 2011.

The prime Blade was one tough hombre. He would be much bigger, stronger, the harder puncher, and could absorb frightening punishment. But I think he would have a hard time catching up to Sergio. Because Sergio could be caught off balance, the Blade could score a flash knockdown, making the fight closer than it might otherwise appear.

Unless Sergio gets judges who overvalue aggression giving rounds to the Blade, I see Sergio winning an entertaining but clear decision.

 

If you could pick one fighter in history to spar with to get you ready for a fight Iran Barkley who would you hire?

 

Sergio would beat the crap out of Barkley and then tko him.
Moves better .Faster .Sharp puncher .Southpaw .
Barkley would have no answer for Sergios movement.
Hell Nunn was awful in the Barkley fight and still won . Hell Nunn fought with Barkley on the inside and wasnt really rocked.

 

Nunn had a very good chin.

Toney stopped him with the most perfectly placed left hook, but outside of that, Nunn's chin was solid.

Martinez had a mediocre chin... but furthermore, for all his speed, Martinez was not a good defensive fighter.

Barkley would catch him eventually.