Darren Barker

British former professional boxer Darren Barker had a record of 26-2 during his career from 2004 to 2013. Barker fought a total of 28 times, with 16 of his wins coming by knockout. Barker's career summary includes one world title at middleweight, being a multiple titleholder at middleweight, including the IBF title in 2013, the Commonwealth title from 2007 to 2009, the British title in 2009, and the European title from 2010 to 2011. Barker represented England in the 2002 Commonwealth Games, where he won a gold medal in the light-welterweight division.

Barker's professional debut was on September 24, 2004, against Howard Clarke, which he won via 6 round PTS. From there, Barker won 22 more consecutive fights that included an impressive 14 wins via stoppage. His first loss came against Sergio Martínez on October 1, 2011, in his first world-title fight for The Ring middleweight title, which he lost via 11th round KO. Both of Barker's losses came via stoppage.

In August 17, 2013, Barker won the IBF middleweight title from Daniel Geale, beating him via 12 round split-decision. However, in Barker's first title defense, he lost to German boxer Felix Sturm on December 7, 2013, via 2nd round TKO, and lost his IBF title. Barker retired from professional boxing with a record of 26-2, inclusive of 16 knockout wins and two losses via knockout and one title win.

Darren Barker began his professional career on September 24, 2004. Barker's debut year was an unbeaten one. In 2005, Barker fought five more times and won each time. Barker had another seven fights in 2006, all of which he won, although the year was cut short due to the death of his brother Gary on December 10, 2006, in a car accident. Barker returned to the sport on October 5, 2007, with a win over Greg Barton at the York Hall.

On November 14, 2007, Barker fought for his first major title, the vacant Commonwealth Middleweight belt, against Ben Crampton. Crampton at that time had 20 wins with only one draw. Barker won the fight at the York Hall, which was a 12 round match, via unanimous decision, lifting the title. Barker defended the title against Steve Bendall, forcing him to retirement in the seventh round, and beat Larry Sharpe in a non-title fight over 10 rounds. On December 13, 2008, Barker defended his title for the second time against Jason McKay, forcing him into retirement at the end of round six. Barker's third defense took place on May 23, 2009, against Darren McDermott in a fight that also served as a British title eliminator, which Barker won with a fourth-round stoppage.

On November 28, 2009, Barker won the vacant British Middleweight title and defended his Commonwealth crown against Danny Butler at the Brentwood Centre. Butler came into the contest at short notice after the original opponent, Wayne Elcock, withdrew due to a stomach virus. Barker won the fight via a stoppage in round 7, with the referee deciding that Butler, who had recently lost in a challenge for the English title, was in no position to continue.

Barker claimed the European title with a unanimous points victory over Affif Belghecham of France on April 9, 2010, unexpectedly following the surprise vacating of the title by previous holder Matthew Macklin, allowing Barker an undeserved opportunity to fight for the title. Barker eventually gave up the Commonwealth title and set his eyes on defending the British and European belts against Matthew Macklin, dubbed the 'Battle of Britain.' The fight was called off following the recurrence of a hip injury while preparing for the contest, and Barker had to relinquish the title. Barker's new representatives Matchroom Sport then faced Domenico Spada on May 1, 2011, and regained the European middleweight title through unanimous points victory after more than 12 months away from the sport. Barker fought Sergio Martínez for the WBC Diamond Middleweight title in his first attempt at a world title on October 1, 2011, losing via 11th-round knockout.

Barker began his comeback on March 9, 2013, by facing Italy's Simone Rotolo (34-3, 15 KO's) for the vacant IBF Inter-Continental Middleweight Title at the Wembley Arena in London. Barker scored a first-round knockdown and went on to win the title as Rotolo retired with an injured hand in the fourth round. Barker then challenged Daniel Geale for the IBF Middleweight world title on August 17, 2013, in which Barker won his first world title, taking a split decision victory despite being knocked down by Geale in the sixth round with a vicious body shot.

Barker's first defense of the IBF Middleweight Title was against veteran German boxer Felix Sturm at the Porsche-Arena in Stuttgart, Germany, on December 7, 2013. Barkers' was felled twice by Sturm in the second round, severely dislocated his hip after falling, forcing his corner to throw in the towel, and ultimately losing the fight, which led to Barker considering retirement. Barker retired from Boxing in 2014.

Darren Barker's boxing career will long be remembered as one that saw him crowned as one of the top professionals in the sport. His record is one of the most impressive in boxing, with 26 wins and two losses, both of which came in world title fights. Barker became an inspiration to many in the sport, and his achievements continue to be celebrated.

Darren Barker Fight Record