David Barnes (born David Smith, 16 January 1981) is a British former
professional boxer
Professional boxing, or prizefighting, is regulated, sanctioned boxing. Professional boxing bouts are fought for a purse that is divided between the boxers as determined by contract. Most professional bouts are supervised by a regulatory autho ...
who competed from 2001 to 2015. He held the
British
British may refer to:
Peoples, culture, and language
* British people, nationals or natives of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories, and Crown Dependencies.
** Britishness, the British identity and common culture
* British English, ...
welterweight
Welterweight is a weight class in combat sports. Originally the term "welterweight" was used only in boxing, but other combat sports like Muay Thai, taekwondo, and mixed martial arts also use it for their own weight division system to classify the ...
title from 2003 to 2004 and the British
super lightweight
Light welterweight, also known as junior welterweight or super lightweight, is a weight class in combat sports.
Boxing Professional boxing
In professional boxing, light welterweight is contested between the lightweight and welterweight divisions, ...
title in 2008.
Career
Barnes made his professional debut in July 2001 when at the
Manchester Velodrome
Manchester Velodrome is an indoor Olympic-standard cycle-racing track in Manchester, England, which opened in 1994. Part of the National Cycling Centre, the facility has been home to British Cycling since 1994, coinciding with the nations rise to ...
he stopped Trevor Smith in the second round of their four-round match. After compiling an undefeated ledger of 12-0 he was just two years later in July 2003 given the opportunity to fight for the vacant British
Welterweight
Welterweight is a weight class in combat sports. Originally the term "welterweight" was used only in boxing, but other combat sports like Muay Thai, taekwondo, and mixed martial arts also use it for their own weight division system to classify the ...
title against the experienced Jimmy Vincent. Barnes claimed victory with a narrow score of 115-114 from the referee John Keane in what was described by commentators as ''"an excellent match from start to finish"''. Barnes early career suffered a hiccup when the boxer was forced to spend six weeks at an army detention centre in
Colchester
Colchester ( ) is a city in Essex, in the East of England. It had a population of 122,000 in 2011. The demonym is Colcestrian.
Colchester occupies the site of Camulodunum, the first major city in Roman Britain and its first capital. Colches ...
. Unknown to his promoters and after seven straight victories on Sky the boxer had been absent without official leave from the army for a total of 18 months until a passport check by promoter
Frank Warren revealed he had deserted from the army. Speaking of the experience to ''
The Daily Telegraph
''The Daily Telegraph'', known online and elsewhere as ''The Telegraph'', is a national British daily broadsheet newspaper published in London by Telegraph Media Group and distributed across the United Kingdom and internationally.
It was fo ...
'' in January 2003 Barnes said "I hated nearly every minute" having joined up as a restless 15-year-old.
Now the full British champion and still relatively inexperienced with a record of 13-0 Barnes set about defending his title and trying to claim the
Lonsdale belt
The Lord Lonsdale Challenge Belt, commonly known as the Lonsdale Belt, is the oldest championship belt in British professional boxing. Hugh Lowther, 5th Earl of Lonsdale, introduced the prize on behalf of the National Sporting Club (NSC), inten ...
outright. He re-entered the ring in December 2003 to defend for the first time against Scotsman
Kevin McIntyre at the
MEN Arena
Manchester Arena, currently referred to as the AO Arena for sponsorship reasons, is an indoor arena in Manchester, England, immediately north of the Manchester city centre, city centre and partly above Manchester Victoria station in air rights s ...
in Manchester winning when the fight was stopped after the eighth round. He followed up the win with further defences against
Northern Ireland
Northern Ireland ( ga, Tuaisceart Éireann ; sco, label= Ulster-Scots, Norlin Airlann) is a part of the United Kingdom, situated in the north-east of the island of Ireland, that is variously described as a country, province or region. Nort ...
's Glenn McClarnon and England's James Hare which gave him the
Lonsdale belt
The Lord Lonsdale Challenge Belt, commonly known as the Lonsdale Belt, is the oldest championship belt in British professional boxing. Hugh Lowther, 5th Earl of Lonsdale, introduced the prize on behalf of the National Sporting Club (NSC), inten ...
for keeps.
Barnes kept busy after the win over Hare with a victory over future European title challenger Juho Tolppola from
Finland
Finland ( fi, Suomi ; sv, Finland ), officially the Republic of Finland (; ), is a Nordic country in Northern Europe. It shares land borders with Sweden to the northwest, Norway to the north, and Russia to the east, with the Gulf of B ...
before meeting the
Glossop
Glossop is a market town in the Borough of High Peak, Derbyshire, England. It is located east of Manchester, north-west of Sheffield and north of the county town, Matlock. Glossop lies near Derbyshire's borders with Cheshire, Greater Manches ...
based
Namibia
Namibia (, ), officially the Republic of Namibia, is a country in Southern Africa. Its western border is the Atlantic Ocean. It shares land borders with Zambia and Angola to the north, Botswana to the east and South Africa to the south and ea ...
n
Ali Nuumbembe
Paulus Ali Nuumbembe (born 24 June 1978 in Oshakati, Oshana Region, Namibia) is a Namibian welterweight boxer. Nicknamed "The Silent Assassin", Nuumbembe is a former Commonwealth champion who represented Namibia at the 2000 Summer Olympics and t ...
for the WBO Inter-continental welterweight title. The fight was very close and ended up with the match being declared a draw.
In June 2005, Barnes fought
Ghana
Ghana (; tw, Gaana, ee, Gana), officially the Republic of Ghana, is a country in West Africa. It abuts the Gulf of Guinea and the Atlantic Ocean to the south, sharing borders with Ivory Coast in the west, Burkina Faso in the north, and To ...
's Commonwealth champion
Joshua Okine
Joshua Okine (born 6 March 1980, in Accra), is a Ghanaian professional welter/ light middle/middleweight boxer of the 2000s and 2010s who won the Ghanaian welterweight title, World Boxing Federation (WBF) welterweight title, International Boxing ...
, where he was put down in the fifth round and stopped in the 12th. It was his first career defeat. In choosing to fight Okine, Barnes had not allowed himself enough time to defend his British title and so had to give it up.
Barnes fought five times over the next two years competing against a host of
journeymen
A journeyman, journeywoman, or journeyperson is a worker, skilled in a given building trade or craft, who has successfully completed an official apprenticeship qualification. Journeymen are considered competent and authorized to work in that fie ...
. In March 2008 he was given the opportunity to fight for a championship again—the British
light welterweight
Light welterweight, also known as junior welterweight or super lightweight, is a weight class in combat sports.
Boxing Professional boxing
In professional boxing, light welterweight is contested between the lightweight and welterweight divisions, ...
version. The opponent at the George Carnall Center in
Davyhulme
Davyhulme is an area of Greater Manchester, England, historically in Lancashire. The population at the 2011 census was 19,634.
Davyhulme Sewage Works
The area is notable for Davyhulme Sewage Works, one of the largest wastewater treatment pl ...
was former European champion
Ted Bami
Ted Bami Minsende (born 2 March 1978 in Zaire (now Democratic Republic of the Congo)) is a former professional boxer. Nicknamed "Dangerous", Bami is a former European light welterweight champion and British light welterweight title challenger. H ...
and Barnes ran out a comfortable points winner becoming the first man to have held the British title at welter and light welterweight.
In July 2008 he defended the title for the first time against former champion
Barry Morrison
Barry Morrison (born 8th May 1980) is a Scottish former professional boxer who competed from 2003 to 2012. He held the British super lightweight title in 2007.
Professional career
Morrison's first professional fight was in April 2003 at the Yo ...
from Scotland again winning on points over 12. Barnes was stripped of the title after he pulled out of a
mandatory defence against former champion
Colin Lynes
Colin Lynes (born 26 November 1977) is a British former professional boxer who competed from 1998 to 2017. He held the IBO super lightweight title from 2004 to 2005. At regional level, he held the British super lightweight title in 2007; the E ...
. Barnes did not fight again until 4 December 2009 when he competed in the light welterweight version of the
Prizefighter series
The Prizefighter series was a professional boxing tournament created by boxing promoter Barry Hearn and aired on Sky Sports. The format has an initial eight fighters, who compete in four quarter-finals of rounds (number and length of the rounds is ...
and ironically was drawn to face the man he should have defended his British title against,
Colin Lynes
Colin Lynes (born 26 November 1977) is a British former professional boxer who competed from 1998 to 2017. He held the IBO super lightweight title from 2004 to 2005. At regional level, he held the British super lightweight title in 2007; the E ...
in the quarter finals. The fight over three rounds resulted in a split decision win for Lynes and handed Barnes only his second defeat.
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Barnes, David
Living people
English male boxers
1981 births
British Parachute Regiment soldiers
Light-welterweight boxers
Prizefighter contestants