# Duke McKenzie

Duke McKenzie MBE (born 5 May 1963) is a British former professional boxer who competed from 1982 to 1998. 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.

## 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.

## 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 EBU 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 EBU 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 EBU 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 EBU 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 EBU 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 |

## Titles in boxing
### Major world titles

* IBF flyweight champion (112 lbs)
* WBO bantamweight champion (118 lbs)
* WBO super bantamweight champion (122 lbs)

### Regional/International titles

* British flyweight champion (112 lbs)
* EBU flyweight champion (112 lbs)
* British featherweight champion (126 lbs)