Was Iran Barkley underrated?

[RawHawg]

Let me preface this by saying I always liked the heavy hitting Iran. His heavy club-like shots and never stop coming forward attitude. I remember an interview where he described his signature shot as the "Brooklyn and Bronx headcrack".

Even though his resume is really impressive; not only beating Hearns twice but stopping him in the first match, and a great, close fight with Duran among others - it just seems he never got the mention that types like Hearns, Leonard, and Duran did.

I would also be curious for thoughts on how people think he was able to beat Hearns twice. I know Tommy could let his heart get the best of him combined with his chin, but I could never understand how he didn't just move and outbox Iran in both fights.

 

[Hagler]

I think most fans both respect Iran Barkley and acknowledge that he's not in the same league as the ATGs he fought, both in termes of resume and boxing skills.

It's a well known fact that Tommy could have trouble in the pocket and in the clinch, that's how the likes of Leonard and Hagler got to him. And God knows how Barkley could crack with his swinging hooks. His record wasn't stellar before their first fight and I assume Hearns underestimated him quite a bit, especially after laying a beatdown on him in the first 2 rounds and smelling blood.

As for their second bout maybe Tommy wanted to make a statement and got carried away after the first few rounds. The KD took off his steam and a lot of his legs. He also broke his right hand during the fight, which must have limited his options. Any boxer able to cut the ring, throw serious bombs in the pocket and sustain some heavy punishment had a chance against Tommy. Prime Barkley was pretty good in these areas, which wasn't all that common.

 

[Seano]

I don't think so. He's just one of those guys who had one fighters number. Take away his wins over Hearns for the sake of argument, whats he got?

Aside from Hearns, he was greatly outclassed by every name he ever fought, even losing to a chubby faded Duran.

His win over Hearns made him a stepping stone forother fighters.

 

[Hagler]

An analogy with Mayorga comes to mind.

 

[Athenry04]

Solid fighter with Hearns on his resume, but to be fair he's not on the level of the three you mentioned. Benn bullied him.

 

[OGquickdraw]

Meh. Everytime I think of the Blade I just think of JT kicking the shit out of him.

 

[mozfonky]

good fighter and the biggest middleweight I've ever seen. I don't understand how duran could be intimidated by hearns and not by the much naturally bigger barkley. He lost to some great fighters and he did have problems with detached retinas. Good solid fighter but not great.

 

[mozfonky]

An analogy with Mayorga comes to mind.

I could see that but barkley was better schooled. Mayorga rarely threw a proper punch.

 

[Unknown Pleasures]

When you have a left hook as good as his, you can go a far way.

He's an over-achiever, having won titles in three different weight classes when that wasn't an easy thing to do.

But ultimately is too crude and limited to be considered an elite type fighter.

 

[djacobox372]

I agree that he was underrated by most, heck SLR has all but admitted to ducking and fearing him.

 

[ssx]

I don't think so....I agree with the above comment, take away Hearns and who did he actually beat? I remember being pumped for his fight with Nigel Benn..

 

[mozfonky]

Didn't he badly hurt benn in the fight, it looked like one of those whoever lands first kayoes the other guy, great fight.

 

[RawHawg]

Didn't he badly hurt benn in the fight, it looked like one of those whoever lands first kayoes the other guy, great fight.

Yes,you are right. It was a short, intense, back and forth battle. Not one sided at all and Benn was hurt at times.



Speaking of Barkley, here is an amusing vid of him and Hearns hyping up their rematch:

 

[TRYHARD 2001]

He's underrated in the sense that not a lot of people know about him, despite the fact that he beat an ATG twice (Hearns), came up a little short against another (Duran), and was just basically one of the most exciting fighters in MW and SMW history. His losses against Robbie Sims and Eddie Hall were both exciting fights that saw him give as good as he got against good boxers who had career nights when they beat him. Kalambay ran circles around him but Sambu was pretty slick and there's no shame losing to him. The Duran fight was close, Nunn was a stud, and Nigel Benn hit him when he was down twice and he had him hurting at the midpoint of the first round. James Toney absolutely killed him, but that version of Toney was one of the best SMW's ever and he was making an ill-advised drop back down to 168 after beating Hearns again at LHW.

His two victories over Hearns, thumping of Olajide, nail-biter over Kinchen, and KO of Van Horn all contribute to saying his resume, while patchy, inconsistent and downright horrible when he decided to go HW, was pretty good, especially in his prime. Tbh, his real value was in the entertainment his fights provided.

And he beat Tommy the first time cuz he hung in there and landed an absolute bomb of a right hand out of nowhere. He won the second fight cuz Tommy didn't have the legs to dance around him and sting him like in their first encounter (he was 34), so he had to hang in the pocket with a bigger, stronger slugger. Both were great fights.

 

[daemonarch]

Very strong and athletic, not afraid to mix it up, he was scary vision inside the ring (he was also ugly which may helped a bit) but not true A-level fighter.
So I don't think he is underrated, he is about where he belongs.

 

[Spirit Breaker]

When you have a left hook as good as his, you can go a far way.

He's an over-achiever, having won titles in three different weight classes when that wasn't an easy thing to do.

But ultimately is too crude and limited to be considered an elite type fighter.

I agree.

He still is known by most above casual boxing fans and that is probably where he belongs.

Hearns most likely underestimated him in their first fight, and it was also at the height of his "Hitman" persona, so after dominating the first two rounds he was more reckless than he should have been.

As far as the second fight Hearns got caught and busted his nose and cheek, I believe, so that impacted it. LHW really wasn't Hearns' best weight. That second fight was also the beginning of the end for him.

 

[Seano]

He's underrated in the sense that not a lot of people know about him, despite the fact that he beat an ATG twice (Hearns), came up a little short against another (Duran), and was just basically one of the most exciting fighters in MW and SMW history. .

There is a school of thought that wrongly believes simply beating a great fighter makes you great as well, like Ken Norton as we were discussing in another thread.

But generally greatness is established by a fighters over all resume, not one or two particular fights. Barkley was inconsistent and couldn't regularly repeat those great wins like other greats, Ali and Robinson for example.

 

[mozfonky]

ya, he was in norton/turpin territory I'd say. oh jesus, i hope we don't go through that again.

 

[RawHawg]

There is a school of thought that wrongly believes simply beating a great fighter makes you great as well, like Ken Norton as we were discussing in another thread.

But generally greatness is established by a fighters over all resume, not one or two particular fights. Barkley was inconsistent and couldn't regularly repeat those great wins like other greats, Ali and Robinson for example.

Typical diversion lol j/k :wink:

 

[Seano]

Typical diversion lol j/k :wink: