Luke Watkins

Luke Watkins
Born	(1989-11-27) 27 November 1989 (age 35) Swindon, Wiltshire, England
Nationality	English
Other names	The Duke
Statistics
Weight(s)	Cruiserweight
Height	6 ft 1 in (185 cm)
Stance	Orthodox
Boxing record[1]
Total fights	19
Wins	16
Wins by KO	11
Losses	3

Luke Watkins (born 27 November 1989) is an English professional boxer who held the Commonwealth cruiserweight title from 2017 to 2018.

Professional career

Watkins made his professional debut on 20 September 2014, scoring a fourth-round technical knockout (TKO) victory over David Vicena at the Wembley Arena in London.[2]

After compiling a record of 11–0 (7 KOs) he faced Robin Dupre for the vacant Commonwealth cruiserweight title on 7 October 2017 at the York Hall in London. Watkins knocked his opponent down in round four before securing a sixth-round TKO to capture his first professional title.[3] His first defence came two months later against Mike Stafford on 2 December at the Leicester Arena. After encountering some difficulties in the first few rounds, Watkins began to take control midway through the fight, opening a cut below Stafford's eye in the sixth round. At the end of the seventh, Stafford's corner warned their man that they would call off the fight to save him from further punishment. Seeing no improvements from Stafford, his corner called a halt to the contest at the end of the eighth round, awarding Watkins a stoppage win by corner retirement (RTD).[4]

His second defence came against WBA Continental Cruiserweight champion and 2016 Olympian, Lawrence Okolie, on 6 June 2018 at York Hall in London, with Okolie's WBA title also on the line. Watkins suffered two knockdowns in the third round, the second of which promoted referee Michael Alexander to call a halt to the contest, handing Watkins the first defeat of his career to lose his Commonwealth title by TKO.[5]

His next fight was against Isaac Chamberlain – who also lost to Okolie in his previous fight – on 27 October 2018 at the Copper Box Arena in London. After a hard-fought ten rounds, Watkins suffered his second defeat, losing via points decision (PTS). Referee Kieran McCann[6] scored the bout 95–94 in favour of Chamberlain, with the defining factor being a late knockdown scored by Chamberlain in the final seconds of the tenth and final round.[7]

Professional boxing record

19 fights	16 wins	3 losses
By knockout	11	2
By decision	5	1

No.	Result	Record	Opponent	Type	Round, time	Date	Location	Notes
19	Loss	16-3	Jordan Thompson	TKO	6 (10)	22 Apr 2023	Cardiff International Arena, Cardiff
18	Win	16-2	Iain Martell	TKO	6 (10)	30 Jun 2022	Civic Hall, Grays
17	Win	15-2	Tyrone Williams	KO	1 (4)	18 Sep 2021	MECA, Regent Circus, Swindon
16	Win	14–2	Ossie Jervier	PTS	6	27 Apr 2019	Oasis Leisure Centre, Swindon, England
15	Loss	13–2	Isaac Chamberlain	PTS	10	27 Oct 2018	Copper Box Arena, London, England
14	Loss	13–1	Lawrence Okolie	TKO	3 (12), 1:40	6 Jun 2018	York Hall, London, England	Lost Commonwealth cruiserweight title; For WBA Continental cruiserweight title
13	Win	13–0	Mike Stafford	RTD	8 (12), 3:00	2 Dec 2017	Leicester Arena, Leicester, England	Retained Commonwealth cruiserweight title
12	Win	12–0	Robin Dupre	TKO	6 (12), 2:16	7 Oct 2017	York Hall, London, England	Won vacant Commonwealth cruiserweight title
11	Win	11–0	Ian Tims	KO	4 (10), 1:13	10 Jun 2017	Odyssey Arena, Belfast, Northern Ireland
10	Win	10–0	Jiri Svacina	TKO	4 (8), 2:38	8 Apr 2017	Oasis Leisure Centre, Swindon, England
9	Win	9–0	Dmitrij Kalinovskij	PTS	6	16 Jul 2016	York Hall, London, England
8	Win	8–0	Reinis Porozovs	TKO	5 (6), 1:40	10 Jun 2016	Grange Leisure Centre, Swindon, England
7	Win	7–0	Tony Cruise	PTS	6	7 May 2016	York Hall, London, England
6	Win	6–0	Sandor Balogh	TKO	2 (6), 1:00	20 Dec 2015	Grange Leisure Centre, Swindon, England
5	Win	5–0	Tamas Bajzath	PTS	8	24 Oct 2015	Oasis Leisure Centre, Swindon, England
4	Win	4–0	Jeno Markhot	TKO	3 (8), 1:32	13 Feb 2015	Oasis Leisure Centre, Swindon, England
3	Win	3–0	Istvan Kun	KO	5 (6), 1:35	1 Nov 2014	Oasis Leisure Centre, Swindon, England
2	Win	2–0	Martin Horal	MD	4	27 Sep 2014	Sparkassen-Arena, Kiel, Germany
1	Win	1–0	David Vicena	TKO	4 (6), 2:00	20 Sep 2014	Wembley Arena, London, England

References

1. "Boxing record for Luke Watkins". BoxRec.
2. "BoxRec: Luke Watkins vs. David Vicena". boxrec.com. Retrieved 15 June 2020.
3. Davies, Matthew (9 October 2017). "BOXING: Duke stops Dupre to claim Commonwealth crown". Swindon Advertiser. Archived from the original on 15 June 2020. Retrieved 15 June 2020.
4. Houlihan, Owen (2 December 2017). "BOXING: Watkins defends Commonwealth title". Swindon Advertiser. Archived from the original on 15 June 2020. Retrieved 15 June 2020.
5. Foster, Elliot (6 June 2018). "Lawrence Okolie Blasts Out Luke Watkins, Adds Commonwealth". BoxingScene.com. Retrieved 15 June 2020.
6. "BoxRec: Luke Watkins vs. Kieran McCann". boxrec.com. Retrieved 15 June 2020.
7. Horan, Matt (27 October 2018). "Ryder vs Sirotkin: Isaac Chamberlain edges out Luke Watkins". Sky Sports. Archived from the original on 15 June 2020. Retrieved 15 June 2020.

External links

• Boxing record for Luke Watkins from BoxRec (registration required)
• Luke Watkins' official website

Sporting positions
Regional boxing titles
Vacant Title last held by Denton Daley	Commonwealth cruiserweight champion 7 October 2017 – 6 June 2018	Succeeded by Lawrence Okolie