Luke Watkins

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

Luke Watkins
Statistics
Nickname(s)The Duke
Weight(s)Cruiserweight
Height6 ft 1 in (185 cm)
NationalityEnglish
Born (1989-11-27) 27 November 1989
Swindon, Wiltshire, England
StanceOrthodox
Boxing record[1]
Total fights16
Wins14
Wins by KO9
Losses2

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
Professional record summary
16 fights 14 wins 2 losses
By knockout 9 1
By decision 5 1
No. Result Record Opponent Type Round, time Date Location Notes
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. Retrieved 15 June 2020.
  4. Houlihan, Owen (2 December 2017). "BOXING: Watkins defends Commonwealth title". Swindon Advertiser. 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. Retrieved 15 June 2020.
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
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