By Scott Gilfoid: #3 IBF, Darren Barker (25-1, 16 KO’s) feels he’s the superior fighter to IBF middleweight champion Daniel Geale (29-1, 15 KO’s), and he thinks he’s going to beat him in their fight this month on August 17th at the Revel Resort, in Atlantic City, New Jersey, USA.
Barker said to Sky Sports “I truly believe I’m better than him. Whilst I would never underestimate him, I truly believe it’s my time and my destiny. I know what I’m all about and I know how to beat him so I can’t wait for August 17.”
This is kind of the moment of truth for the 31-year-old Barker. I mean, if he can’t get past Geale, who might be the weak link among the four middleweight champions, then Barker is going to have to make a big decision about his career.
Barker doesn’t have the size to move up to super middleweight, and if he moves down to 154, he might be too thin to be able to do much at that weight. To me, it looks like Barker would have to go back to the European and/or the domestic level if Geale destroys him or dominates him like I think he will.
I have a feeling that August 17th is going to go badly for Barker with him tasting defeat, and the fight turning out to be like a bad dentist appointment where they don’t give you enough Novocain before they start drilling. Barker, #3 IBF, has the ranking for this fight, but that’s about it. He doesn’t have the type of game that matches up well for a guy that hops around the ring like Geale does.
We’ve seen Barker look less than impressive in fights against the likes of Kerry Hope, Simone Rotolo, Sergio Martinez Domenico Spada, and Affif Belghecham. There’s nothing in Barker’s background that suggests he’ll do anything other than lose to Geale. You normally would see talent there that would give a good indication whether a fighter like Barker would stand a chance against Geale, but I see cupboards are bear for Barker in terms of the talent needed to win this fight.
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