Darren Barker claimed the vacant European middleweight title with an unanimous points win over Affif Belghecham.
Barnet boxer stretches unbeaten record to 22-0 with points success
Darren Barker recorded a unanimous points win over Affif Belghecham at Alexandra Palace to become the new European middleweight champion.
The 27-year-old stretched his record to 22-0 but was unable to become the first man to stop his durable French opponent.
A left hook in the fourth did give Barker hope that he could finish it early and he also pressed forward in the following round when he found the target with a cracking uppercut.
But, having been happy to stand toe-to-toe in the first half of the fight, Barker then decided to box on the run from the seventh onwards.
Tactical change
Yet the change of tactics only allowed Belghecham to come back into the contest.
Having absorbed so much punishment early doors despite his tight defence, the 35-year-old southpaw began to throw plenty of leather back.
However his lack of power, just four of his 19 professional victories had come by way of stoppage before this bout, proved his undoing.
He connected with a well-timed left in the 11th but was unable to follow it up with anything meaningful as Barker kept a safe distance away.
In the end the man from Barnet had done enough to get the nod from all three judges at ringside, triumphing by scores of 116-112, 118-110 and 116-114.
