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Unlike some recent Australian Boxing World Champions, no one can accuse Daniel Geale of handpicking his opponents.
Fresh from wins over Sebastian Sylvester and Felix Sturm in Germany and a comprehensive win over Anthony Mundine earlier this year, Geale has decided to take on America and has chosen the toughest opponent imaginable.
‘Dazzling’ Darren Barker is the man who will stand in the opposite corner from Geale in Atlantic City, with the Englishman looking to prove he can exist at the elite level of the Middleweight division.
Barker pushed Middleweight king Sergio Martinez all the way in October 2011, despite finally being stopped in the 11th round.
Barker has bounced back from that defeat with two consecutive wins, and although both Simone Rotolo and Kerry Hope are notable on the Middleweight ranking, the way Barker disposed both shows he can be a force.
But lose to Geale on Sunday and his cards will be marked and it will be unlikely we will see him on a similar stage anytime soon.
Despite being Champion, Geale also still has a point to prove.
Still largely unknown on the US scene, Geale is hoping an impressive display against Barker will prompt a fight with the heavyweights of the division.
Currently Geale is seen as the least marketable of the Middleweight champions, with Martinez and WBA Champion Gennady Golovkin seemingly on a collision course to fight in the very near future.
Martinez has reigned in the division for a number of years and Golovkin has been knocking out anything with a pulse in recent time.
Geale has stated he will have no issues stepping in with either, but we all know the only thing that guarantees these fights is dollars.
Frankly at this time, not enough people are aware of Geale and his talent to tempt Martinez or Golovkin into the ring with the Australian champ, with the Barker fight the first step to rectifying that.
WBO Champion Dmitry Pirog may be next in line for Geale, with a second World Title perhaps a further selling point for promoters, fans and potential opponents alike.
But there are also the ongoing proceedings around current IBF mandatory, Sam Soliman.
The Australian was meant to fight Geale earlier this year, before that fight was scrapped after it was announced Soliman failed a post-fight drugs test, only for Soliman to be later cleared.
Even a fight with Julio Cesar Chavez could be in the works, with Chavez looking to restore his pride after being suspended for testing positive to marijuana after his fight with Martinez.
Despite being a lacklustre affair for all but the final round, a rematch between the two was set before Chavez’s drug ban, so a fight with Geale might get Chavez quickly back in the mix.
But all the speculation on the future is wasted unless Geale gets past Barker in Atlantic City, which will be no easy task.
Barker and Geale both fight in the same style, with each taking an all action approach, fighting each round bell to bell.
Barker has power in both hands and is equally adept at fighting at a distance and can also mix it up in close. Barker is a skilled technician who uses his angles well and, like Geale, uses his jab to put his combinations together – not a single punch thrown by either is wasted.
In his fights with Sturm and Mundine, Geale has started on fire and it allowed him to dictate the terms from the world go. Geale’s work rate is superior to anyone in the division and that may just be what gives him the edge.
The styles of both fighters are so similar and it will be interesting to see how Geale settles given the fight will be his first in the US and with so much on the line.
He showed no fear in his two fights in Germany, but this time the pressure is squarely all on his shoulders.
The task isn’t just to retain the IBF Middleweight Champion but prove to the world that he is in fact the Real Deal.
Prediction
Geale by decision.
The bet
While Barker will go into the fight the outsider, for those wanting to have a bet I’d consider putting a lazy $5 on the draw at $21.
That’s how close I feel this fight will be.
Follow Adam Santarossa on Twitter – @adamsantarossa
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