Sergio "Maravilla" Martinez vs. Darren Barker Saturday October 1st

[Mars_ax]

I'm also getting excited about this fight. I believe Darren Barker is being underrated in this fight. I still wonder if Barker really has the experience to face Martinez, but Barker will be the first true middleweight contender that Martinez has faced since Pavlik and he looks like a strong middleweight. Did anyone catch his fight with Conroy McIntosh? The fight isn't readily available on youtube although I read on boxrec that Barker was put down twice in that fight. It had me wondering that if Barker was put down by a journeyman scouser, he won't last with Martinez, but I'm not 100% on it.

It's hard not to think of Barker as anything but Martinez' next victim based on his lack of top opposition and/or lack of any experience at the world class level. Barker's resume is the who's who of fighters nobody has ever heard of outside the UK, so I don't agree that he's being underated.

Martinez is on a roll, he's been in with the best, and he has the power to put Barker's lights out. I'll say Barker survives a couple of knockdowns and makes it into one of the later rounds, before being brutally KTFO somewhere around the 8th or 9th round.

[Rantcatrat]

I'm also getting excited about this fight. I believe Darren Barker is being underrated in this fight. I still wonder if Barker really has the experience to face Martinez, but Barker will be the first true middleweight contender that Martinez has faced since Pavlik and he looks like a strong middleweight. Did anyone catch his fight with Conroy McIntosh? The fight isn't readily available on youtube although I read on boxrec that Barker was put down twice in that fight. It had me wondering that if Barker was put down by a journeyman scouser, he won't last with Martinez, but I'm not 100% on it.

It's hard not to think of Barker as anything but Martinez' next victim based on his lack of top opposition and/or lack of any experience at the world class level. Barker's resume is the who's who of fighters nobody has ever heard of outside the UK, so I don't agree that he's being underated.

Martinez is on a roll, he's been in with the best, and he has the power to put Barker's lights out. I'll say Barker survives a couple of knockdowns and makes it into one of the later rounds, before being brutally KTFO somewhere around the 8th or 9th round.

Everything you said is correct. My only thing would be to go check out some Barker fights on youtube. The Spada one in particular. Barker has a little bit of slickness to him and he is somewhat versatile. I've seen him go into the philly shell and also the earmuffs defense. This is a different fight than Dzinziruk/Pavlik/Williams who are all offensive fighters who don't move laterally. I actually believe it is good for Sergio's development to an extent.