Darren Barker

Kerry Hope talks ahead of big domestic fight with Darren Barker

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By Ian Aldous: Saturday December 8th will see a big domestic middleweight fight go down at the Alexandra Palace in London. Former European middleweight champions will collide when Welshman, Kerry Hope (18-4) faces Darren Barker (23-1) live on Sky Sports HD in the UK. This week Kerry took some time away from training to talk with me ahead of the big fight.

Barker vs. Hope on December 8th; Rees vs. Murray possible

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Image: Barker vs. Hope on December 8th; Rees vs. Murray possibleBy Scott Gilfoid: Former middleweight contender Darren Barker (23-1, 14 KO’s) will be facing the recently knocked out light hitting middleweight contender Kerry Hope (17-4, 1 KO’s) on December 8th on the undercard of the Carson Jones vs. Lee Purdy fight at the Olympia, Kensington, London, United Kingdom. The 30-year-old Barker hasn’t fought since last November in being stopped in the 11th round by Sergio Martinez last year in November and Barker now has completely slipped from the world rankings due to the time away from the ring. Barker fought passively in the Martinez fight and put in a text example of how not to fight when you’re challenging the world’s best middleweight. Barker was in survival mode the entire fight, and wasted his time by taking the fight.

Hope, 31, is coming off of an 8th round TKO loss to Grzegorz Proksa last July in a fight where Hope was little more than a weak hitting punching bag for eight rounds for Proksa. However, Hope is still ranked #7 IBF in the middleweight division for some reason despite the loss, but that’ll probably change after December 8th if Barker isn’t too rusty to fight.

Maidana vs. Aydin possible for 2013; Rees & Barker added to Purdy-Jones card

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Image: Maidana vs. Aydin possible for 2013; Rees & Barker added to Purdy-Jones cardBy Allan Fox: A welterweight clash between #2 WBA Marcos Maidana (32-3, 29 KO’s) and #3 WBC Selcuk Aydin (23-1, 17 KO’s) is being talked about for early 2013, according to RingTV. Both Aydin and Maidana have open schedules as of right now, and it would make for an appealing fight for HBO due their exciting fighting styles.

Aydin, 29, lost his last fight to Robert Guerrero last July by a 12 round decision on HBO. Despite losing the fight, Aydin made it an interesting fight to watch due to his hard power shots that he kept hitting Guerrero with. However, in the end, Aydin didn’t have the boxing skills to pull off a win and ended up losing the fight.

Barker: I’m going to prove that I belong on the world stage by beating Rotolo

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Image: Barker: I'm going to prove that I belong on the world stage by beating RotoloBy Scott Gilfoid: Former middleweight title challenger Darren Barker (23-1, 14 KO’s) figures that he proved that he’s a world class fighter by hanging in there against WBC middleweight Diamond champion Sergio Martinez until getting stopped in the 11th round last year in October. The fact that Barker was able to last that long against the hard hitting Martinez makes Barker feel that he’s a world class fighter.

Bellew-Miranda, Barker-Rutolo on September 8th

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Image: Bellew-Miranda, Barker-Rutolo on September 8thBy Scott Gilfoid: In a less than thrilling card on September 8th, fringe light heavyweight contender Tony Bellew (17-1, 11 KO’s) mixes it up with former world title challenger Colombian Edison Miranda (35-7, 30 KO’s) at the Alexandra Palace, Muswell Hill, in London, United Kingdom.

Hearn working on Barker vs. Pirog fight for HBO

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Image: Hearn working on Barker vs. Pirog fight for HBOBy Sean McDaniel: Matchroom Sport promoter Eddie Hearn revealed on Sky Ringside the other night that he’s in deep talks with WBO middleweight champion Dmitriy Pirog’s management in setting up a clash between Hearn’s fighter middleweight contender Darren Barker (23-1, 14 KO’s) and Pirog (19-0, 15 KO’s) for a fight that would take place on HBO. I think it would be a good fight for both guys.