Daniel Geale Comes to America To Fight Darren Barker A Century After Les Darcy
By Robert Brizel, Head Real Combat Media Boxing Correspondent
In 1916, World Middleweight champion Les Darcy of Australia attempted to enlist in active service for Australia during World War I, but his mother blocked it as Darcy was a minor not yet 21 years old. Unwilling to wait for his next birthday, Darcy stowed away on a ship bound for America and arrived in New York. Inaccurately labeled a military deserter, and unable to secure any fights, he was eventually able to join the United States Flying Corps. Darcy contracted pneumonia and died in Memphis, Tennessee on May 24, 1917.
In 2013, over 96 years after Les Darcy’s passing, Australia’s Daniel Geale will try to right one of pugilistic history’s most notable wrongs when he travels to neutral Atlantic City, New Jersey, to fight Darren Barker of Great Britain. Unlike Darcy, Geale has fought twice outside of Australia, winning split decisions in rounds over Felix Sturm and Sebastian Sylvester. Geale will get the opportunity Les Darcy never had, to defend his version of the world middleweight title on American soil. The International Boxing Federation world title could be considered the equivalent of the Australian version of the world middleweight title title Les Darcy defended honorably between 1915 and 1916.
Les Darcy, ‘The Maitland Warrior’, lost his first middleweight title bout to Jeff Smith, then defeated Smith in the rematch as he won ten world middleweight title bouts in succession. Geale has only won five world title bouts in a row, and at 32, is a decade older than Darcy was. Geale is an experienced mature boxer, though not as polished as Darcy was early on.
Les Darcy could walk his opponents down, cut off the ring with pressure, outwork them on the inside with phenomenal accuracy, and several punches and tie his man up without allowing counters, and used superior footwork in center ring to land overhand power rights, and maneuver himself inside to land body combinations. In the pioneer era, Darcy was as proficient in wrestling as he was in boxing, and combined wresting with boxing for both position and scoring. Geale is like Darcy in two critical respects: Geale is an extremely awkward boxer in style; Geale is an extremely High IQ thinking boxer who can adapt his style to changing circumstance. Darcy’s awkward style in his second fight with Jimmy Clabby traces the history of Australian middleweight boxing to Daniel Geale’s style today.
World Champion Les Darcy Highlights http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PTzs6_2K52g
Les Darcy vs Jimmy Clabby II Clip http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b0qO9Z7Z0aY
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