Duke McKenzie

Duke McKenzie MBE (born 5 May 1963) is a British former professional boxer who competed from 1982 to 1998.[1] He is a three-weight world champion, having held the IBF flyweight title from 1988 to 1989; the WBO bantamweight title from 1991 to 1992; and the WBO junior-featherweight title from 1992 to 1993. At regional level he held the British flyweight title from 1985 to 1988; the European flyweight title from 1986 to 1988; and the British featherweight title from 1993 to 1994. After retiring from the sport, McKenzie has worked as a boxing commentator for broadcaster ITV.

Duke McKenzie
MBE
Statistics
Weight(s)
Height5 ft 7 in (170 cm)
NationalityBritish
Born (1963-05-05) 5 May 1963
Croydon, Surrey,
England
StanceOrthodox
Boxing record
Total fights46
Wins39
Wins by KO20
Losses7
Websitedukemckenziembe.co.uk

Professional career

Previously a highly successful professional boxer, McKenzie has been British champion at two weights, a European champion once and world champion at three different weights. His professional record is 39-7 (20 by KO).

Flyweight

He won the British flyweight title (5 June 1985) with a fourth round stoppage over Danny Flynn. He later defended this against Charlie Magri (20 May 1986) and added Magri's European flyweight title.

Both titles were relinquished when McKenzie won the IBF flyweight Title on 5 October 1988 with an 11th-round knockout over Rolando Bohol.

After two title defences and one non-title, McKenzie lost the IBF flyweight title to Dave McAuley on 7 June 1989 in his first defeat.

Bantamweight

An unsuccessful challenge for the European (EBU) Bantamweight title on 30 September 1990 saw McKenzie lose to Thierry Jacob of France.

On 30 June 1991 McKenzie became a world champion for a second time, winning the WBO bantamweight title with a 12-round decision over Gaby Canizales. This was lost to Rafael Del Valle on 13 May 1992 when McKenzie suffered his first knockout loss, in the first round.

Super bantamweight

On 15 October 1992 McKenzie became a three-weight world champion, beating Jesse Benavides after twelve rounds for the WBO Super Bantamweight title. On 9 June 1993, Daniel Jimenez beat McKenzie on points, in his first defence of this title.

Featherweight

On 18 December 1993 McKenzie became a four-weight regional champion, beating John Davison for the British Featherweight title. An attempt to become world champion at this division ended in a knockout loss to Steve Robinson on 1 October 1994. McKenzie's next fight was an unsuccessful challenge for Mehdi Labdouni's European featherweight title.

McKenzie's last fight, in March 1998, saw him lose in farcical circumstances in the first round to 4-4 Santiago Rojas.

Life after boxing

He previously commentated on boxing for BBC Radio Five Live and BBC television with John Rawling. He joined ITV with Rawling when boxing returned to the network in September 2005. He has also broadcast for BoxNation, Primetime and Al Jazeera. He also runs a flourishing gymnasium in Purley.

Personal life

He is the brother of former British and European champion Clinton McKenzie, and former amateur boxer and politician Winston McKenzie. On 4 March 1989, Duke witnessed the Purley station rail crash, and was amongst those who helped in the aftermath.[2]

Professional boxing record
46 fights 39 wins 7 losses
By knockout 20 3
By decision 19 4
No. Result Record Opponent Type Round, time Date Location Notes
46 Loss 39–7 Santiago Rojas Alcantara KO 1 (12), 1:04 28 Mar 1998 Crystal Palace National Sports Centre, London, England
45 Win 39–6 Carl Allen PTS 8 30 Jun 1997 York Hall, London, England
44 Win 38–6 Bamana Dibateza PTS 8 25 Mar 1997 Lewisham Theatre, London, England
43 Win 37–6 Elvis Parsley TKO 1 25 Jun 1996 Leisure Centre, Mansfield, England
42 Loss 36–6 Mehdi Labdouni PTS 12 28 Apr 1995 Fontenay-sous-Bois, France For European featherweight title
41 Loss 36–5 Steve Robinson KO 9 (12), 2:40 1 Oct 1994 National Ice Rink, Cardiff, Wales For WBO featherweight title
40 Win 36–4 Mark Hargreaves TKO 3 (6) 17 Aug 1994 Hillsborough Leisure Centre, Sheffield, England
39 Win 35–4 Marcelo Rodriguez PTS 8 29 Jan 1994 National Ice Rink, Cardiff, Wales
38 Win 34–4 John Davison TKO 4 (12) 18 Dec 1993 Wythenshawe Forum, Manchester, England Won vacant British featherweight title
37 Loss 33–4 Daniel Jiménez MD 12 9 Jun 1993 Lewisham Theatre, London, England Lost WBO junior-featherweight title
36 Win 33–3 Jesse Benavides UD 12 15 Oct 1992 Lewisham Theatre, London, England Won WBO junior-featherweight title
35 Win 32–3 Peter Buckley TKO 3 (8) 7 Sep 1992 York Hall, London, England
34 Loss 31–3 Rafael del Valle KO 1 (12), 1:56 13 May 1992 Royal Albert Hall, London, England Lost WBO bantamweight title
33 Win 31–2 Wilfredo Vargas TKO 8 (12), 0:58 25 Mar 1992 Royal Albert Hall, London, England Retained WBO bantamweight title
32 Win 30–2 César Soto UD 12 12 Sep 1991 Latchmere Leisure Centre, London, England Retained WBO bantamweight title
31 Win 29–2 Gaby Canizales UD 12 30 Jun 1991 Elephant and Castle Shopping Centre, London, England Won WBO bantamweight title
30 Win 28–2 Chris Clarkson TKO 5 (6) 4 Apr 1991 Town Hall, Watford, England
29 Win 27–2 Julio Blanco TKO 7 (10), 1:17 7 Feb 1991 Town Hall, Watford, England
28 Win 26–2 Peter Buckley TKO 5 (8) 10 Jan 1991 Latchmere Leisure Centre, London, England
27 Loss 25–2 Thierry Jacob UD 12 30 Sep 1990 Calais, France For vacant European bantamweight title
26 Win 25–1 Guillermo Flores PTS 8 8 Nov 1989 Wembley Conference Centre, London, England
25 Win 24–1 David Moreno PTS 10 12 Oct 1989 Elephant and Castle Shopping Centre, London, England
24 Loss 23–1 Dave McAuley UD 12 7 Jun 1989 Wembley Arena, London, England Lost IBF flyweight title
23 Win 23–0 Tony DeLuca TKO 4 (12), 2:03 8 Mar 1989 Royal Albert Hall, London, England Retained IBF flyweight title
22 Win 22–0 Artemio Ruiz PTS 10 30 Nov 1988 Elephant and Castle Shopping Centre, London, England
21 Win 21–0 Rolando Bohol TKO 11 (12), 2:25 5 Oct 1988 Wembley Conference Centre, London, England Won IBF flyweight title
20 Win 20–0 Jose Gallegos PTS 10 4 May 1988 Wembley Conference Centre, London, England
19 Win 19–0 Agapito Gómez KO 2 (12) 9 Mar 1988 Wembley Conference Centre, London, England Retained European flyweight title
18 Win 18–0 Juan Herrera PTS 10 2 Dec 1987 Wembley Conference Centre, London, England
17 Win 17–0 Jose Manuel Diaz PTS 8 24 Mar 1987 Wembley Arena, London, England
16 Win 16–0 Giampiero Pinna MD 12 17 Dec 1986 Acqui Terme, Italy Retained European flyweight title
15 Win 15–0 Lee Cargle PTS 10 19 Nov 1986 Atlantic City, New Jersey, US
14 Win 14–0 Charlie Magri TKO 5 (12) 20 May 1986 Royal Albert Hall, London, England Retained British flyweight title;
Won European flyweight title
13 Win 13–0 Sonny Long PTS 10 19 Feb 1986 Royal Albert Hall, London, England
12 Win 12–0 Orlando Maestre PTS 8 16 Oct 1985 Royal Albert Hall, London, England
11 Win 11–0 Danny Flynn TKO 4 (12), 2:10 5 Jun 1985 Royal Albert Hall, London, England Won vacant British flyweight title
10 Win 10–0 Julio Guerrero PTS 8 6 Mar 1985 Royal Albert Hall, London, England
9 Win 9–0 Gary Roberts KO 1 23 May 1984 Grosvenor House Hotel, London, England
8 Win 8–0 David Capo MD 4 15 Jan 1984 Sands, Atlantic City, New Jersey, US
7 Win 7–0 Alain Limarola PTS 6 22 Nov 1983 Wembley Arena, London, England
6 Win 6–0 Jerry Davis TKO 2 (6) 18 Oct 1983 Tropicana, Atlantic City, New Jersey, US
5 Win 5–0 Lupe Sanchez KO 2 (6), 1:59 19 Mar 1983 Convention Center, Reno, Nevada, US
4 Win 4–0 Gregorio Hernandez TKO 3 3 Mar 1983 Grand Olympic Auditorium, Los Angeles, California, US
3 Win 3–0 Dave Pearson TKO 1 27 Feb 1983 Showboat Hotel and Casino, Las Vegas, Nevada, US
2 Win 2–0 Andy King TKO 2 (6), 2:30 24 Jan 1983 Hilton, London, England
1 Win 1–0 Charlie Brown TKO 1 (6), 2:08 23 Nov 1982 Wembley Arena, London, England Professional debut

See also

References
  1. Boxing record for Duke McKenzie from BoxRec (registration required). Retrieved 13 December 2016.
  2. Whalley, Kirsty (1 March 2009). "Death in the afternoon: 20 years on, Croydon remembers the Purley Rail Crash". Your Local Guardian. Newsquest. Retrieved 14 December 2016.
This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.