Michael Nunn vs Iran Barkley

Michael Nunn retained the IBF middleweight championship by majority decision over Iran Barkley at the Lawlor Events Center in Reno, Nevada, on August 14, 1989. Nunn, weighing 159 pounds, received scores of 116-113 from Art Lurie and 115-113 from Glen Hamada, while Keith MacDonald scored the contest level at 114-114. Carlos Padilla was the referee. There were no knockdowns and no point deductions. The result extended Nunn’s unbeaten record to 34 victories, while Barkley suffered his second successive defeat after losing the WBC championship to Roberto Duran six months earlier.

Nunn entered as one of the leading fighters in the sport. He had won the IBF title from Frank Tate in July 1988, stopped Juan Domingo Roldan in his first defence and then knocked out Sumbu Kalambay with one left hand after only 88 seconds. That victory had encouraged comparisons with the outstanding middleweights of earlier periods and had increased pressure for matches with Sugar Ray Leonard, Thomas Hearns or Duran. Barkley’s position was different. His record of 25 victories and five defeats concealed the severity of his opposition. He had stopped Hearns in three rounds to win the WBC title in June 1988, then lost a close decision to Duran in his first defence. He entered against Nunn as a considerable underdog but with a reputation for strength, endurance and persistent aggression.

The contest quickly settled into a clear tactical pattern. Barkley advanced behind a high guard, attempting to reduce the distance and force the champion into exchanges. Nunn, a tall southpaw with the longer reach and faster feet, moved around the outside of the ring and struck while retreating. He used the right jab to interrupt Barkley’s approach and followed with quick left hands before moving away. Barkley carried the fight forward throughout, but he often found himself reaching after Nunn rather than placing his feet close enough to punch with full effect. The champion’s work was cleaner, although it came in brief passages and was followed by lengthy periods of movement.

The official cards demonstrate how differently the judges interpreted those tactics. Hamada gave Nunn the first and third rounds, while MacDonald awarded the third to Barkley and Lurie gave the second to Nunn. All three judges scored the fourth for Barkley, whose pressure was beginning to bring him within range, but they agreed that Nunn recovered to win the fifth and sixth. Barkley took the seventh unanimously, continuing to advance and forcing the champion to work at a pace he did not always welcome. Nunn responded by sweeping the eighth and ninth on all three cards, using his speed to strike first and leave before Barkley could answer effectively.

The final three rounds decided the contest. Barkley won the eleventh on every official card and also took the tenth from Hamada and MacDonald. Lurie scored the tenth even. The challenger’s persistence was at its most effective during this period. Nunn was still avoiding many punches, but his own output had fallen, and Barkley’s forward movement carried increasing weight with the judges. The champion entered the final round with little room for error. He boxed more positively in the twelfth, landing the clearer punches and moving with greater purpose. All three judges awarded him the round. That final three-minute effort preserved his title on Hamada’s card and prevented Barkley from obtaining a draw on Lurie’s.

The decision was close but not unreasonable. Barkley had been the aggressor and had made Nunn retreat for much of the night, yet aggression without clean punching could not by itself establish control. Nunn landed the sharper blows, avoided much of Barkley’s heavier work and won the rounds in which his activity matched his movement. Sports Illustrated’s ringside assessment was that the scoring had been more generous to Barkley than his effective punching warranted. However, many spectators were disappointed that Nunn had not attempted to dominate a supposedly inferior opponent.

The performance damaged Nunn’s growing reputation despite the victory. Promoter Bob Arum criticised the champion for giving ground and failing to produce the forceful display expected after the Kalambay knockout. Nunn defended his tactics by pointing to Barkley’s strength and awkwardness, but the contrast between expectation and performance was considerable. Barkley had not won the championship, yet he had reduced a heavily favoured opponent to cautious, economical boxing and had carried the verdict to the final round. Nunn remained unbeaten and retained his title for a third time, but the contest showed that his speed and skill could be made less impressive when an opponent accepted the missed punches, kept advancing and refused to be discouraged.

I had Nunn winning, and I never saw it as the robbery some claimed it was. Barkley applied pressure but often followed rather than cut off the ring. Nunn landed the cleaner punches, controlled range with the jab and straight left, and made Barkley reset.

The problem was expectation. Nunn had flattened Sumbu Kalambay in 88 seconds and was being mentioned alongside Leonard, Hearns and Duran. People expected brilliance. Instead, he boxed cautiously and did enough. Bob Arum’s “99-cent performance” remark was harsh, but understandable.

Barkley deserves credit. He had knocked out Hearns and pushed Duran close, so Nunn was right not to trade recklessly. Still, Barkley’s feet were slow and his attacks predictable. The cards of 116-113, 115-113 and 114-114 made it sound tighter than I saw it.

For me, Nunn won, but showed why the public never embraced him like the great middleweights he was compared with.