By William Mackay: Fighting for the first time in over a year, undefeated middleweight contender Darren Barker (23-0, 14 KO’s) defeated fringe contender Domenico Spada (32-4, 16 KO’s) by a 12 round unanimous decision to capture the vacant European Boxing Union (EBU) middleweight title on Saturday night at the Olympia in London, England.
Darren Barker
Barker vs. Spada tonight: Will Darren fall apart?
By Scott Gilfoid: Undefeated Darren Barker (22-0, 14 KO’s) looks to go over old ground by attempting to recapture his EBU middleweight title tonight against the hard hitting Domenico Spada (32-3, 16 KO’s) in a scheduled 12 round bout at the Olympia, Kensington, in London, England. Barker, who is ranked highly in the middleweight division, wants to recapture the European Boxing Union title which he recently had to give up due to a bad hip injury that required surgery.
UK Boxing Weekly (edition 8): Smith defeats Simpson, Price destroys Butler; Barker-Spada, DeGale-Groves, More!
By Adam Fillingham:
Wednesday 27th April
Last night saw an old fashioned tare up between featherweights John Simpson (British champion) and Stephen Smith (Commonwealth champion). The fight was a close contest through the vast majority of the fight but Smith was the quickest to hit top gear. The home fighter took most of the early rounds with quick hands and decent power, wobbling the Scottish Simpson on a few occasions.
Barker vs. Spada this Saturday
By Sean McDaniel: In a battle of middleweight contenders, unbeaten Darren Barker (22-0, 14 KO’s) will be facing the tough Domenico Spada (32-3, 16 KO’s) for the vacant European Boxing Union (EBU) middleweight title on Saturday night at the Olympia, Kensington, London, England. Barker, 28, is ranked #5 WBC, #10 IBF, #14 WBO and seems to be wasting a good portion of his career chasing domestic and European level straps rather than going after world titles.
Barker wants shot against Sergio Martinez
By William Mackay: #6 ranked WBC middleweight contender Darren Barker (22-0, 14 KO’s) has a fight coming up on April 30th against the hard-hitting Italian Domenico Spada (32-3, 16 KO’s) at the Olympia, Kensington, London, England.
Macklin & Barker Ready to Rumble!
By Shaun Campbell: ‘Dazzling’ Darren Barker (22-0 14KO’s) and Matthew Macklin (28-2 19KO’s) are finally set to go at it after promoter Mick Hennessy secured the rights to the fight. The fight will be for Macklin’s European middleweight title, a belt in which both men have held, and loss (although neither man has lost the belt in the ring). The pair were due to fight last year but Barker had to pull out of the proposed bout due to a hip injury, which has fortunately cleared up now.
Macklin could face Barker next
By Sean McDaniel: European Boxing Union (EBU) middleweight champion Matthew Macklin (28-2, 19 KO’s) will possibly be defending his title against 28-year-old Darren Barker (22-0, 14 KO’s) in the near future, according to boxing news from frankwarren.tv. The bout has reportedly been put out for purse bids, so we could possibly be seeing something very soon. This is the second time that these two fighters have attempted to put a fight together. Last year, Barker came up injured when they were supposed to fight in September.
Magnificent 7 Preview: Macklin-Barker, Cleverly-Murat, Brook-Jennings
By Shaun Campbell:
European Middleweight Title:
Matthew Macklin (26-2 18KO’s) vs. Darren Barker (22-0 14KO’s)
The main event of the evening is the much anticipated European middleweight title fight between Matthew Macklin and Darren Barker. The pair were scheduled to meet in the past, but Macklin instead faced Amin Asikainen for the then vacant European crown. Barker instead won the vacant British title, and then when Macklin gave up the European title due to an injury, Barker won the challenge against Affif Belgecham. Now the pair will finally meet in in what is being tipped as the biggest domestic fight since Eubank vs Benn (also at middleweight).
The Magnificent Seven Looks a Hit: Cleverly-Murat, Macklin-Barker, More!
By Shaun Campbell: Frank Warren promotions and Sky Sports will be broadcasting one of the most exciting cards of boxing this year on September 18th. The card will include a world title eliminator, 3 European champions, and two British title fights. The show will be headlined by Nathan Cleverly’s light-heavyweight WBO interim title shot against Karo Murat. Cleverly who is 19-0 will 9 KO’s will be looking to burst onto the world scene with a win over Murat.
Darren Barker: Britain’s Dazzling Star
By By Brinsley Bailey: To say my generation has been blessed with British boxing talent may be an understatement as I have seen the likes of Calzaghe, Haye, Hatton, Khan and Froch all become highly successful fighters. The future also looks bright as a new group of British boxers have the potential to take the world title scene by storm. Fighters such as Kevin Mitchell, Nathan Cleverly and Kell Brook underline the talent British boxing ranks currently hold in abundance.