Darren barker, yes or no?

[boozeboxer]

I'd rather bet money on Bob Barker.

[Kirkland Laing]

I never had you pegged down as a cynic @Kirkland Laing. Eddie obviously has more faith in Brook than a lot of other promoters would and trusts him to give a good enough account of himself in the US to make it worth the gamble. There was probably no way that Alexander was going to come over here, like most American Boxers the fact that some British fighters might just be able to draw a bigger crowd seems to be irrelevant to them.

Barker you could argue actually improved his reputation despite losing to Martinez and certainly increased his exposure and chances in future of fighting for a belt. Frampton will get his chance too, shortly after rebuilding once Quigg beats him.

It's easy to get Alexander on a plane to England. You let the fight negotiations go to purse bids and then bid more than the other guy. Then the other guy has to vacate or get on a plane.

Barker's chances of fighting for a belt are down to how much money Hearn is willing to back him with. He simply pays the IBF a fee to get Barker ranked in the top ten (like Gary Shaw was recently caught doing) and then offers Geale enough money to fight Barker, or he gets Barker made number one challenger and then lets the fight go to purse bids........

Let's see how much money Hearn puts into getting Barker a world title shot or whether he keeps on fighting euro-level opponents. Barker is 30 and has already fought for a world title so he doesn't need any more time to develop, he needs a top contender or two at home to see if he can sell more tickets and then if it's viable economically Hearn needs to get him a title fight.

[bzkfn]

Let's see how much money Hearn puts into getting Barker a world title shot or whether he keeps on fighting euro-level opponents. Barker is 30 and has already fought for a world title so he doesn't need any more time to develop, he needs a top contender or two at home to see if he can sell more tickets and then if it's viable economically Hearn needs to get him a title fight.

I don't think the Euro level opponents has anything to do with development and it has more to do with trying to get the ring rust off after yet another period spent on the treatment table. Hearn is right in that Barker needs a consistant run of fights before a title challenge. His level could go up a notch now though.