Sergio Martinez vs Darren Barker

Argentina’s Sergio Martinez retained his position as the recognised middleweight champion by knocking out Darren Barker after one minute 29 seconds of the 11th round at Boardwalk Hall in Atlantic City on October 1, 2011. Two right hands caught Barker, the second landing around the side of his guard and behind the ear, and he went down on his knees before rolling towards his back. He attempted to rise but could not do so before referee Eddie Cotton completed the count. The finish was not produced by a left hook, as stated in some reports, but by Martinez’s right hand after a prolonged period of pressure.

Martinez entered with a record of 47 wins, two defeats and two draws and weighed 158 pounds. He was defending The Ring middleweight championship for the third time, together with the WBC Diamond title. The WBC’s principal championship was no longer in his possession, as the organisation removed it after he elected to fight Sergiy Dzinziruk instead of its mandatory challenger. Martinez had knocked out Paul Williams with one left hand in their return contest and had subsequently dropped Dzinziruk five times before stopping him in the eighth. Barker, the unbeaten European champion from London, brought a record of 23–0 and weighed 159½ pounds. He was regarded as a considerable outsider but possessed a sound jab, a disciplined guard and the size of a natural middleweight.

Barker’s compact style proved more difficult for Martinez than expected in the early rounds. The Englishman kept both gloves high, moved carefully behind his jab and declined to open himself by leading recklessly. Martinez, a southpaw who preferred opponents to come towards him, had fewer opportunities to counter than usual. Barker landed occasional straight right hands through the centre and prevented the champion from establishing an easy rhythm. Martinez remained the more active boxer, but many of his wider punches struck Barker’s gloves and forearms.

The challenger’s confidence increased as his defence continued to frustrate Martinez. In the fourth round Barker landed cleanly with the jab and right hand, causing the champion’s nose to bleed. Martinez was never seriously hurt, but the injury provided visible evidence of Barker’s success. From the fifth onwards, however, the champion began to adjust. Rather than relying on single counters, he attacked in combinations of three and four punches, forcing Barker to stay behind his guard longer. Barker blocked a considerable amount, but his own punching became less frequent as Martinez’s volume increased.

Martinez controlled much of the seventh, although Barker continued to pick off shots and answer when space became available. In the eighth, the champion stumbled to the floor without being struck, and Cotton correctly ruled that there had been no knockdown. Barker responded by landing several straight rights and a left hook, producing one of his better rounds. A clash of heads troubled Martinez in the ninth, but no interval was required. The men touched gloves before continuing, and Martinez finished the round strongly, catching Barker with the heavier punches during the final half-minute.

The fight altered more decisively in the tenth. Martinez landed a stiff lead right jab which shook Barker and drove him backwards. The champion followed with a sustained attack lasting approximately 30 seconds, throwing rapidly as Barker covered against the ropes. Barker remained upright and found a right hand of his own before the bell, but he had absorbed his heaviest punishment of the contest. Over the tenth and the unfinished 11th rounds, Martinez held a 33–9 advantage in power punches landed. Barker’s guard had kept him competitive, but the repeated strain of blocking and absorbing blows was beginning to tell.

Barker opened up in the 11th because he needed to regain ground. He landed a right hand, but the increased ambition also supplied Martinez with the openings he had been seeking. The champion answered immediately, first stunning Barker with a right and then stepping closer with another right hook around the guard. The blow landed behind the challenger’s ear and sent him to the canvas. Barker tried to gather his legs as Cotton counted, but his balance had deserted him, and the count reached ten.

All three judges had Martinez ahead after ten rounds, though they differed sharply over the margin. Lynne Carter scored the contest 96–94, Victor Loughlin had it 97–94 and Alejandro Rochin returned a much wider 99–91. Barker had performed sufficiently well for the two closer cards to be understandable. His jab, straight right and high guard had made Martinez work harder than in his recent victories, and he had bloodied the champion’s nose in the fourth. He had not, however, produced enough sustained offence to take control of the fight.

Barker’s resistance ended his unbeaten record but enhanced his standing. He had not been overwhelmed early, as many expected, and his disciplined defence carried him into the championship rounds. Martinez nevertheless demonstrated why he held the superior position in the division. Once single shots failed to penetrate Barker’s guard, he increased his combinations, worked at a higher rate and gradually reduced the challenger’s replies. The final right hand delivered the knockout, but the victory had been prepared in the preceding rounds through accumulated pressure and the exhausting pace imposed on Barker.

Darren Barker deserves more credit for this performance than he usually receives. Sergio Martinez had just flattened Paul Williams and dropped Sergiy Dzinziruk five times, so plenty expected another easy night. Barker had other ideas. His high guard, disciplined jab and straight right denied Martinez the open target he liked when opponents chased him.

Barker bloodied his nose in the fourth and made him look uncomfortable during the first half. The problem was that Barker’s defence came at the expense of his offence. Blocking punches can frustrate a man, but it does not win enough rounds unless you answer back. From the fifth onwards, Martinez began throwing in threes and fours, keeping Barker’s gloves occupied and gradually finding gaps around the guard.

By the tenth, Barker was being broken down. Martinez hurt him with the lead right jab and sustained an attack for half a minute. Barker remained upright and still had enough spirit to land a right in the 11th, but that merely opened the door. Martinez answered immediately and finished him with a heavy right hook around the guard and behind the ear.

The knockout looked sudden, but it came from accumulation. Barker’s discipline made him competitive; Martinez’s greater pace and power eventually overwhelmed him. I thought the 96–94 and 97–94 cards reflected the contest better than 99–91. Barker proved he belonged at that level and later became a world champion, but Martinez was simply the better man on the night.