Barker vs Geale: The IBF Middleweight Title has changed hands.
British Middleweight Darren Barker (26-1, 16 KOs) dethroned IBF Middleweight Champion Daniel Geale (29-2, 15 KOs) of Australia via split decision on Saturday night at the Revel Resort in Atlantic City.
By most accounts, the fight was more entertaining than what many expected and both fighters arguably enhanced their reputation and marketability.
Geale showed more power than fans are accustomed to seeing from him while Barker, known most for his defensive prowess, surprised viewers with his high activate rate throughout. Barker got off to a good start and appeared to have won 3 of the first 4 rounds. Geale, then, rallied back and nearly knocked out his foe in Round 6 with nasty body shot. Barker, seemingly in immense pain, barely beat the count.
Geale, now sensing this was his opportunity to end matters, went on the attack and hammered Barker along the ropes and in the middle of the ring. But later in the round, Barker ripped an exhausted Geale with a hard right as Geale, now, appeared compromised.
Barker finished Round 6 strongly and, despite being floored, arguably did enough to lose the round 10-9 (as opposed to the traditional 10-8 rulings when a knockdown occurs).
Although the action continued to ebb and flow, Barker appeared to be dictating the tempo and working at a higher activity rate. And while Geale was landing the harder shots, Barker’s workrate was seemingly more impactful.
Heading into the 12th and final round, many believed Geale needed a knockout, or at least another knockdown, to retain his title. Not the case – On the judges’ scorecards, the bout was still up for grabs.
Judge Alan Rubenstein had the Aussie ahead by two points 105-103 while judge Barbara Perez had Barker ahead by six. The key judge was Carlos Ortiz had the bout deadlocked at 104-104. Image courtesy of FightNews Keep in mind, during the fight, judges don’t know how other judges are scoring it. Judge Ortiz had no idea, heading into Round 12, his verdict for that round would decide the winner.
Although the 12th Round seemed solidly Geale’s, Judge Ortiz awarded it to Barker, costing Geale the fight. Had he given the round to Geale, the Aussie would have won a split decision.
The final round was one of Geale’s best as a right-left combination badly hurt his Australian foe midway through. A wobbly Barker obviously made it out of the round but not without enduring some solid punishment.
There may not be an outcry over Judge Ortiz’s Round 12 verdict because most – although far from everyone – believed Barker deserved the win. However, a fair number of fans scored it a draw while a few had Geale winning.
Nevertheless, how can anyone, even the most novice of judges, award the final round to Barker?
