Sam Noakes (born 20 July 1997) is an English professional boxer. He challenged for the WBO lightweight title in 2025. Noakes is a former British, European and Commonwealth lightweight champion.
Career After an amateur career boxing out of Westree ABC which included winning the England Boxing National Amateur Championships light-welterweight title, Noakes turned professional in July 2019 signing a four-year contract with Frank Warren's Queensbury Promotions.
His first pro-fight was on 27 September 2019 at the Royal Albert Hall in London when he won via stoppage after his opponent, Chris Adaway, quit on his stool before the final round.
In just his eighth outing, Noakes won his first title in the paid ranks by stopping Shaun Cooper in the ninth round at the Copper Box Arena in London to claim the vacant WBC International Silver lightweight championship on 4 December 2021.
He successfully defended the title with a fourth round stoppage of Vincenzo Finiello at Wembley Arena in London on 19 March 2022.
Noakes claimed the vacant Commonwealth lightweight title on 26 November 2022, defeating Calvin McCord by technical knockout in round four at The O2 Arena in London.
A second round stoppage of Karthik Sathish Kumar saw Noakes retain his Commonwealth and WBC International Silver belts at the Copper Box Arena in London on 15 April 2023.
Next, with his WBC International Silver title on the line, he secured a 12th successive win inside the distance thanks to a fourth round technical knockout victory over Carlos Perez at York Hall in London on 1 December 2023.
On 10 February 2024, Noakes won the vacant British and WBO International lightweight titles by stopping Lewis Sylvester in the fourth round at the Copper Box Arena in London.
Despite being taken the distance for the first time in his professional career, Noakes became European lightweight champion with a unanimous points victory over Frenchman Yvan Mendy in a fight for the vacant title held at York Hall in London on 20 April 2024. All three ringside judges scored the contest as a 120–108 shutout in his favour.
He made a successful first defence of his European title against mandatory challenger Gianluca Ceglia from Italy at York Hall on 6 September 2024, when his opponent retired on his stool at the end of round eight. In October 2024, Noakes signed an extension to his promotional contract with Queensbury.
Noakes defended his British, Commonwealth and WBO International titles with a unanimous decision win over Ryan Walsh at Wembley Arena in London on 7 December 2024. He was named the 2024 European Boxing Union male champion of the year.
Having vacated his European title a month earlier, Noakes stopped Patrik Balaz in the third of a scheduled eight-round contest at Nottingham Arena on 10 May 2025.
Fighting outside of England for the first time, Noakes faced fellow unbeaten boxer, Abdullah Mason for the vacant WBO lightweight title at ANB Arena in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, on 22 November 2025. He lost via unanimous decision with the judges scorecards reading 113–115, 113–115 and 111–117.
On 3 May 2026, Noakes made a low-key return to the competitive boxing ring, facing Benito Sanchez Garcia in a scheduled eight-round contest at York Hall in London. He got back to winning ways by stopping his opponent in the second round.
Noakes faced former WBO lightweight champion Denys Berinchyk at The O2 Arena in London on 29 August 2026. He won by unanimous decision to claim the vacant WBO International lightweight title.
Personal life Noakes' older brother Sean is also a professional boxer. He had jobs in a call centre, fast food restaurant and as a roofer before taking up boxing full-time.
Professional boxing record
ResultRecordOpponentTypeRound, timeDateLocationNotes20Win19–1Denys BerinchykUD1029 Aug 202619Win18–1Benito Sanchez GarciaTKO2 (8), 3 May 202618Loss17–1Abdullah MasonUD1222 Nov 202517Win17–0Patrik Balaz3 (8), 10 May 202516Win16–0Ryan WalshUD127 Dec 202415Win15–0Gianluca Ceglia8 (12), 6 Sep 202414Win14–0Yvan Mendy1220 Apr 202413Win13–0Lewis SylvesterTKO4 (12), 10 Feb 202412Win12–0Carlos PerezTKO4 (10), 1 Dec 202311Win11–0Karthik Sathish KumarTKO2 (12), 15 Apr 202310Win10–0Calvin McCordTKO4 (12), 26 Nov 20229Win9–0Vincenzo FinielloTKO4 (10), 19 Mar 20228Win8–0Shaun CooperTKO9 (10), 4 Dec 20217Win7–0Naeem AliTKO2 (6), 24 Jul 20216Win6–0Lee ConnellyTKO3 (6), 10 Jul 20215Win5–0Delmar ThomasTKO1 (8), 27 Feb 20214Win4–0Jordan EllisonTKO5 (6), 20 Aug 20203Win3–0Des NewtonTKO1 (6), 22 Feb 20202Win2–0Daryl PearceTKO3 (4), 21 Dec 20191Win1–0Chris Adaway3 (4), 27 Sep 2019
References