Sergio Martínez vs. Darren Barker

Sergio Martinez vs. Darren Barker was a Middleweight fight for The Ring title. The fight took place in Boardwalk Hall, Atlantic City, New Jersey, United States on 1 October 2011[1] Barker, the European champion, was certainly not the first choice for Martinez, various other potential opponents turned down overtures for a bout against him. Promoter Lou DiBella offered the fight with Martinez to titleholders Julio Cesar Chavez Jr. and Daniel Geale as well as junior middleweight titlist Miguel Cotto and Paul Williams, for a rubber match.[2] Martinez said he was willing to face Cotto at middleweight or drop down to junior middleweight to fight him, but Cotto continued to ignore the fight.[3]

No Fear. No Mercy.
Date1 October 2011
Venue Boardwalk Hall, Atlantic City, New Jersey, United States
Title(s) on the lineThe Ring Middleweight Championship
Tale of the tape
Boxer Sergio Martinez Darren Barker
Nickname Maravilla Dazzling
Hometown Quilmes, Buenos Aires, Argentina Barnet, London, United Kingdom
Pre-fight record 47–2-2 (26 KO) 23–0-0 (14 KO)
Height 5 ft 10 in (178 cm) 6 ft 0 in (183 cm)
Weight 158 lb (72 kg) 159.5 lb (72 kg)
Style Southpaw Orthodox
Recognition Ring Magazine pound for pound No. 3 EBU (European) Middleweight Champion
Result
Martinez defeated Barker via Knockout

Background

Martinez

Martinez won 2 world titles in April 2010 with a unanimous decision over Kelly Pavlik.[4] Martinez made his first defense in spectacular fashion on Paul Williams by knocking him unconscious with one punch.[5] In his second defense, Martinez laid a beating on junior middleweight titlist Sergiy Dzinziruk, HBO's preferred opponent who moved up in weight for the opportunity. Martinez dropped him five times en route to a lopsided eighth-round knockout on March 12.[6] And because Martinez faced Dzinziruk instead of mandatory challenger Sebastian Zbik (whom HBO rejected for Martinez but accepted for Chavez), the WBC stripped Martinez and elevated Zbik to its titleholder. Zbik then lost the belt to Chavez on June 4 by majority decision.[7]

Barker

Barker won the vacant EBU middleweight title with a unanimous decision win over France's Affif Belghecham on April 9, 2010.[8] However, he was then the victim of a cowardly street attack in June 2010 after he tried to prevent a scuffle. This event, coupled with a chronic hip-problem, left him inactive for over a year as he recovered from the assault and underwent hip surgery.[9] Barker returned to ring on April 30, 2011, once again winning the vacant EBU middleweight crown with a hard-fought unanimous decision victory over Italy's Domenico Spada.[10]

Undercard

Televised
Lee defeated Vera via unanimous Decision (99-90, 98-91, 99-90)

Preliminary card
Chilemba defeated Bostic via Technical Knockout at 1:48 of the second round.
Monaghan defeated Claiborne via Technical Knockout at 0:54 of the fourth round.
Abdusalamov defeated Burnett via Technical Knockout at 1:18 of the first round.
  • Super Welterweight bout: Steve Martinez vs. Jay Krupp
Martinez defeated Krupp via Technical Knockout at 1:57 of the fifth round.
Love defeated Hunter via unanimous Decision (60-53, 60-54, 60-54)
  • Super Welterweight bout: Boyd Melson vs. Russ Niggemyer
Melson defeated Niggemyer via unanimous Decision (59-55, 60-54, 60-53)
  • Middleweight bout: Israel Duffus vs. Troy Artis
Artis defeated Duffus via Technical Knockout at 2:03 of the third round.
  • Super Welterweight bout: Kevin Rooney Jr vs. Danny Lugo
Lugo defeated Rooney via unanimous Decision (37-39, 37-39, 37-39)

Result

Martinez defeated Barker via Knockout at 1:29 of the eleventh round. Barker had some success early in the fight, landing some jabs and a few straight rights that made Martinez's nose to bleed in the fourth round. But from the fifth round on, Martinez dominated the fight behind three- and four-punch flurries that left Barker covering up for most of the bout.

Through 10 rounds, judges Lynn Carter (96-94), Victor Loughlin (97-94) and Alejandro Roche (99-91) all had Martinez ahead.

Reported fight earnings
  • Sergio Martinez $1,500,000 vs. Darren Barker ($400,000)

International Broadcasting

Notes
  1. BoxRec Boxing Records. Boxrec.com. Retrieved on 2011-08-02.
  2. Rafael, Dan. (2011-07-14) Sergio Martinez to fight Darren Barker. ESPN. Retrieved on 2011-08-02.
  3. Ambrose, Dan. (2011-07-19) Sergio Martinez: I’ll never fight Cotto, because he’s been ducking me for 1.5 years. Boxing News 24. Retrieved on 2011-08-02.
  4. (2010-04-18) Sergio Martinez beats Kelly Pavlik to become two-weight world champion. The Guardian. Retrieved on 2011-08-02.
  5. Christ, Scott. (2010-11-20) Knockout of the Year: Sergio Martinez Blasts Paul Williams in Two. Bad Left Hook. Retrieved on 2011-08-02.
  6. Coppinger, Mike. (2011-03-13) Middleweight champion Sergio Martinez TKOs Sergiy Dzinziruk. USA Today. Retrieved on 2011-08-02.
  7. Rafael, Dan. (2011-02-23) Blog | Zbik approved for Chavez, not Martinez. ESPN. Retrieved on 2011-08-02.
  8. Darren Barker vs. Affif Belghecham - BoxRec Boxing Encyclopaedia. BoxRec.com. Retrieved on 2011-09-16.
  9. Terence, Dooley. (2011-04-28) Darren Barker is Coming Back To What He Knows. Boxing Scene. Retrieved on 2011-09-18.
  10. Sukachev, Alexey. (2011-04-30) Barker Grabs EBU Crown With Spada Win at Olympia Hall. Boxing Scene. Retrieved on 2011-09-18.
Preceded by
vs. Sergiy Dzinziruk		 Sergio Martinez's bouts
August 01, 2011		 Succeeded by
Preceded by
vs. Domenico Spada		 Darren Barker's bouts
August 1, 2011		 Succeeded by
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