The Face of British Boxing – Froch Out, Barker In?

By Michael Byrne - 12/03/2013 - Comments

barker63By Michael Byrne: Carl Froch’s legacy is in tatters. It’s not even George Groves’s fault: it’s his own. He displayed arrogance in trying to undermine Groves. He displayed delusion in insisting that the referee made the right call, even when the entire stadium was booing him in the post-fight interview.

His limited boxing ability was exposed, and it became clear that he is a boxer who relies too heavily upon a granite chin and big power carried in wild swings. One could also argue that these poor qualities were already apparent in his game. He constantly talks about his legacy, and yes he has fought everyone around, but he has never been particularly humble about his achievements or respectful to his opponents. He has never outright admitted that ward beat him fairly because Ward is simply better than him. So Froch has lost a lot of popularity, and he doesn’t seem to be searching in the right places to try and regain it.

Let’s take a look at the other big names in British boxing. Amir Khan. I’ve watched every professional fight Khan has ever had. My view is that he is one half of the perfect boxer. His speed is phenomenal, his ability to put a variety of punches together into combinations is very admirable, his chin isn’t as bad as people make it out to be, but his defence is poor, his infighting is terrible, and perhaps most importantly, his ring IQ is nonexistent. Just like Froch, Khan appears arrogant at times, deluded and heavily flawed.

Tyson Fury is a decent boxer but he goes beyond arrogance and delusion. If he fights a Klitschko brother he might not wake up again. If he fights a top contender such as Kubrat Pulev or Bermane Stiverne, he is finished. I’m not going to mention any other ‘top’ heavyweights who certain writers like to mention occasionally, but there are numerous heavyweights who, if they found Fury’s chin, they could wrap their nights up early. Maybe he could find some easy route to a belt if Wladimir was ever to vacate them all at once, and maybe he could even hang onto it for a while by choosing strategic fights: Fury is unarguably a ‘good’ boxer, and has improved a lot since he was dropped by Neven Pajkic in 2011. In his four fights since, he has shown a lot more composure, and willingness to box to his strengths, even if his jab is still lazy.

Ricky Burns is a much better face to represent the country: a real nice guy, and a true warrior. However, his last couple of fights seem to have demonstrated he is maybe a half-step below elite class, and he is in a dangerous division. As admirable as it was to go the distance with Beltran after getting his jaw broken in the second, the facts remain that Beltran broke Burns’s jaw with a great left-hook, and Beltran was the real winner of that fight. Eddie Hearn has spoken about Ricky wanting a unification bout with Miguel Vazquez when he returns, but that doesn’t look favorable right now. The take a look at Burns’s mandatory, Terrence Crawford. Alternatively we could see a rematch with Beltran. Thus, as much of a nice, friendly guy he is, I don’t think we’re ever going to see Ricky at the top of the sport.

A few notable mentions go out to the unlikeable Kell Brook, who was probably exposed by Carson Jones; the inactive Jamie McDonnell; Scott Quigg and Carl Frampton, one of whom will become pretty popular by beating the other, but there is a definite lack of interest in the divisions south of 135, and they will never compete with Leo Santa Cruz or Rigo; and George Groves, who splits opinions in terms of likeability.

So, we’ve arrived at Darren Barker. Like Burns, a real good-guy of the sport. Arguably a little arrogant, but when arrogance is shown alongside a decent grasp of reality and a decent display of respect, then it’s not a bad thing – after all, this is the sport of boxing and being meek gets you nowhere. He has one of those back-stories which makes you want for him to succeed. He has a decent Amateur pedigree with a Commonwealth Gold Medal. His only pro-defeat came when Sergio Martinez knocked him out in the 11th, but this loss planted Barker on the world scene. He out-boxed Martinez for large periods, but ultimately couldn’t keep up with the speed, power, and angles of the p4p player. Most importantly, though, Barker clearly learnt his lessons from that loss. He showed true heart to get up from the Daniel Geale body-shot, and then go on to win the fight. Barker is likeable, and he is elite level.

He’s fighting Felix Sturm this weekend, and is confident he can travel over to Stuttgart and return with his belt still strapped around his shoulder. If he succeeds here, which both I and the Bookmakers believe he will, then what does his future hold? Look at the ‘big-guns’ in the division. Martinez is old, and looked pretty washed up when he was spread out on the canvas by Martin Murray. Either Barker gets a rematch and fares better second time round, or Martinez fights a couple more times then retires, and is no longer a threat. Peter Quillin looked shaky against Gabriel Rosado in October and was possibly saved by Rosado’s unfortunate complexion. ‘Kid Chocolate’ will probably go back to being a heavily protected champion. However, if push came to shove, Barker could well outbox Quillin over 12 rounds. Now, Gennady Golovkin is a wrecking machine, and as much as I like Barker, if Geale can drop him with a body punch then Golovkin would ruin him. If GGG is the real deal, which he seems to be, Barker has absolutely no chance against him. However, there are repeated suggestions that Golovkin with be moving northwards to 168, and if this happens then that is the big threat out of the way for Barker. Even if he stays at 160, there should be options for Barker to steer clear.

So if Martinez is old, Quillin is protected, and Golovkin steps up to Super-Middle, this leaves the division to Barker and a series of manageable challengers. Murray, Macklin, and Lee on the domestic scene. Beaten, and beatable veterans such as Sam Soliman and Marco Antonio Rubio. Undefeated youngsters such as Patrick Nielsen and Matt Korborov (admittedly not young in age, but young in experience) who are not ready to make the step up to world level. This is the middleweight division, and Barker has every right and ability to own it for some time to come.



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