By Nate Anderson: Undefeated middleweight Darren Barker (19-0, 12 KOs) successfully defended his Commonwealth (British Empire) middleweight title on Saturday night, stopping challenger Jason McKay (20-3, 2 KOs) in the 6th round at the International Centre, Brentwood, in Essex. The fight was stopped after the 6th round by McKay’s corner due to swelling under both of his eyes. Up until the stoppage, McKay had taken sustained punishment in the fight from Barker and was hurt on a number of occasions by big right hands from him.
Barker, 26, looked nothing short of sensational in taking apart McKay, hurting him often starting in the 1st round with right hands that staggered him badly and sending him crashing off the ropes. Near the end of the first, Barker landed a big right hand that hurt McKay for a second time in the round and had him holding on. McKay, 31, seemed to never be the same after getting hurt in the first round as he continued to get battered in subsequent rounds.
He made it somewhat close in the second, landing some good right hands to the head and body of Barker. However, he had no way of shutting down Barker’s attack and was troubled by his big right hands. McKay fought well in the first minute of the third round, landing left hooks and a several hard right hands.
Barker, however, came back once again and staggered McKay with a nice right hand in the middle of the round. Instead of grabbing a hold of Barker and trying to clinch, McKay gamely fought back, firing off right hands but still taking some nasty right hands to the head for all his efforts. By the end of the round, McKay was starting to show swelling under his right eye.
No doubt, a product of Barker’s hard right hands in the round. In the 4th, McKay started off fast, landing some good right hands in the opening moments of the round. Barker, however, went to work with his right hand shots, hitting him with uppercuts and left hooks.
McKay was starting to look tired from the hectic pace by the end of the round, his face red and marked up from the big shots he was eating. The 5th round was all Barker, who pummeled McKay with a volley of right hands that had both eyes swollen and red by the end of the round.
McKay was no longer fighting back with any effectiveness and was now taking sustained punishment. In the 6th round, Barker continued battering a now nearly helpless McKay around the ring without stop, hurting him near the end of the right with a hard right hand that sent McKay bouncing off the ropes. After the round ended, the fight was stopped by McKay’s corner.
“No disrespect to Jason, he’s a good fighter,” Barker said. “He got me with some good clean punches.”