Quote Originally Posted by Bilbo View Post
I thought it was a good win. Barker fought a good gameplan and kept it tight, not allowing Martinez to get off with his punches. The first six rounds or so were nip and tuck but Martinez adapted and was dominating the fight by the end.

It's silly to suggest it wasn't an impressive win because he wasn't dominating from the opening bell. That's like writing Man Utd off as league champions because they go in at half time 0-0 with West Brom.

He got the job done.

I don't think he's as complete a fighter as either Manny or Floyd. And if Hopkins beats Chad Dawson I think I will put him above him also.

If you count the Klitschko's in the p4p then I think there is a case for both of them being higher rated considering the levels of dominance they display over all of their opposition, but most people don't put heavyweights in there.

Guys like Ward, Bradley and Khan are rising, but they aren't undisputed champs like Martinez. At the end of the day, if you don't think Martinez is one of the top 3 fighters in the world, then you have to say who is. It's really hard to make a serious case for anyone else.

He's definitely one of the best in the current p4p, although I think he would have been a bit lower down the list had the likes of Hopkins, Jones, Cotto, Calzaghe, Mosley, Hatton and De La Hoya still been in their primes/top a few years ago.

Three years ago he'd be creeping into the top 10 with his current resume. But as boxing is right now, all of those guys are gone so his place is starting to look legit.

He's also a very exciting fighter.