Sergio Martínez vs. Darren Barker

Sergio Martínez vs. Darren Barker was a middleweight fight for The Ring title. The fight took place in Boardwalk Hall, Atlantic City, New Jersey, United States on October 1, 2011[1] Barker, the European champion, was certainly not the first choice for Martínez, various other potential opponents turned down overtures for a bout against him. Promoter Lou DiBella offered the fight with Martínez to titleholders Julio Cesar Chavez Jr. and Daniel Geale as well as junior middleweight titlist Miguel Cotto and Paul Williams, for a rubber match.[2] Martínez said he was willing to face Cotto at middleweight or drop down to junior middleweight to fight him, but Cotto continued to ignore the fight.[3]

No Fear. No Mercy.
DateOctober 1, 2011
VenueUnited States Boardwalk Hall, Atlantic City, New Jersey, United States
Title(s) on the lineThe Ring middleweight title
Tale of the tape
Boxer Argentina Sergio Martínez United Kingdom Darren Barker
Nickname Maravilla Dazzling
Hometown Quilmes, Buenos Aires, Argentina Barnet, London, United Kingdom
Pre-fight record 47–2–2 (26 KO) 23–0–0 (14 KO)
Height 5 ft 10 in (178 cm) 6 ft 0 in (183 cm)
Weight 158 lb (72 kg) 159.5 lb (72 kg)
Style Southpaw Orthodox
Recognition The Ring middleweight champion
The Ring No. 3 ranked pound-for-pound fighter
2-division world champion		 EBU (European) middleweight champion
Result
Martínez defeated Barker via Knockout

Background

Martínez

Martínez won two world titles in April 2010 with a unanimous decision over Kelly Pavlik.[4] Martínez made his first defense in spectacular fashion on Paul Williams by knocking him unconscious with one punch.[5] In his second defense, Martínez laid a beating on junior middleweight titlist Sergiy Dzinziruk, HBO's preferred opponent who moved up in weight for the opportunity. Martínez dropped him five times en route to a lopsided eighth-round knockout on March 12.[6] And because Martínez faced Dzinziruk instead of mandatory challenger Sebastian Zbik (whom HBO rejected for Martínez but accepted for Chavez), the WBC stripped Martínez and elevated Zbik to its titleholder. Zbik then lost the belt to Chavez on June 4 by majority decision.[7]

Barker

Barker won the vacant EBU middleweight title with a unanimous decision win over France's Affif Belghecham on April 9, 2010.[8] However, he was then the victim of a cowardly street attack in June 2010 after he tried to prevent a scuffle. This event, coupled with a chronic hip-problem, left him inactive for over a year as he recovered from the assault and underwent hip surgery.[9] Barker returned to ring on April 30, 2011, once again winning the vacant EBU middleweight crown with a hard-fought unanimous decision victory over Italy's Domenico Spada.[10]

Undercard

Televised
Lee defeated Vera via unanimous Decision (99-90, 98-91, 99-90)

Preliminary card
Chilemba defeated Bostic via Technical Knockout at 1:48 of the second round.
Monaghan defeated Claiborne via Technical Knockout at 0:54 of the fourth round.
Abdusalamov defeated Burnett via Technical Knockout at 1:18 of the first round.
  • Super Welterweight bout: United States Steve Martínez vs. United States Jay Krupp
Martínez defeated Krupp via Technical Knockout at 1:57 of the fifth round.
Love defeated Hunter via unanimous Decision (60-53, 60-54, 60-54)
  • Super Welterweight bout: United States Boyd Melson vs. United States Russ Niggemyer
Melson defeated Niggemyer via unanimous Decision (59-55, 60-54, 60-53)
  • Middleweight bout: Panama Israel Duffus vs. United States Troy Artis
Artis defeated Duffus via Technical Knockout at 2:03 of the third round.
  • Super Welterweight bout: United States Kevin Rooney Jr vs. United States Danny Lugo
Lugo defeated Rooney via unanimous Decision (37-39, 37-39, 37-39)

Result

Martínez defeated Barker via Knockout at 1:29 of the eleventh round. Barker had some success early in the fight, landing some jabs and a few straight rights that made Martínez's nose to bleed in the fourth round. But from the fifth round on, Martínez dominated the fight behind three- and four-punch flurries that left Barker covering up for most of the bout.

Through 10 rounds, judges Lynn Carter (96-94), Victor Loughlin (97-94) and Alejandro Roche (99-91) all had Martínez ahead.

Reported fight earnings
  • Sergio Martínez $1,500,000 vs. Darren Barker ($400,000)

International broadcasting

References
  1. BoxRec Boxing Records. Boxrec.com. Retrieved on August 2, 2011.
  2. Rafael, Dan. (July 14, 2011) Sergio Martinez to fight Darren Barker. ESPN. Retrieved on August 2, 2011.
  3. Ambrose, Dan. (July 19, 2011) Sergio Martinez: I'll never fight Cotto, because he's been ducking me for 1.5 years. Boxing News 24. Retrieved August 2, 2011.
  4. (2010-04-18) Sergio Martinez beats Kelly Pavlik to become two-weight world champion. The Guardian. Retrieved on August 2, 2011.
  5. Christ, Scott. (November 20, 2010) Knockout of the Year: Sergio Martinez Blasts Paul Williams in Two. Bad Left Hook. Retrieved on August 2, 2011.
  6. Coppinger, Mike. (March 13, 2011) Middleweight champion Sergio Martinez TKOs Sergiy Dzinziruk. USA Today. Retrieved on August 2, 2011.
  7. Rafael, Dan. (February 23, 2011) Blog | Zbik approved for Chavez, not Martinez. ESPN. Retrieved August 2, 2011.
  8. Darren Barker vs. Affif Belghecham – BoxRec Boxing Encyclopaedia. BoxRec.com. Retrieved on September 16, 2011.
  9. Terence, Dooley. (April 28, 2011) Darren Barker is Coming Back To What He Knows. Boxing Scene. Retrieved on September 18, 2011.
  10. Sukachev, Alexey. (April 30, 2011) Barker Grabs EBU Crown With Spada Win at Olympia Hall. Boxing Scene. Retrieved on September 18, 2011.
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