‘Britain’s worst boxer’ Robin Deakin has an incredible story to tell.
“Rockin” Robin lost 53 of his 55 professional fights and holds the unfavorable distinction of suffering the longest losing streak in professional boxing history – a remarkable run of 51 barren fights.
3
At one point, Deakin lost so many fights that the British Boxing Board of Control (BBBofC) revoked his license, fearing he would never win again.
But victory wasn’t the be-all and end-all for Deakin – just getting into the ring was an achievement in itself.
When Deakin arrived into the world, he wasn’t supposed to live, let alone box.
“I was born three months premature,” he told talkSPORT.com.
“The doctors didn’t think I was going to make it, but I’m a miraculous child. I made it and became who I am today.”
When he was born, Deakin was diagnosed with talipes, better known as clubfoot.
In his youth, he underwent more than 40 operations and could not walk without assistance until he was six years old.
“When I was in my mother’s womb, my legs twisted,” he added.
3
“I have two club feet and I also don’t have an Achilles tendon on my left leg, so it’s weak and very skinny, which prevents me from moving properly.”
Deakin took up boxing in a bid to improve his mobility and quickly fell in love with the sport.
As an amateur he won 56 out of 76 fights and turned professional under Frank Warren’s Queensbury Promotions with the full intention of boxing on the left side of the bill.
He won his first professional fight against Shaun Watson in 2006 at the famous York Hall in Bethnal Green, but then lost his second fight to Eduards Krauklis.
It prompted the Crawley brawler to rethink his career path and become a journeyman.
“The tickets were flying out (for my first two fights),” he remembers.
“In my second fight I boxed on the undercard of Michael Sprott against Audley Harrison at Wembley Arena.
“I boxed a boy for Latvia, he was stupid. He was a companion himself and I lost by one point…
“After that fight, I left Frank Warren and hit the road (as a journeyman).”
Deakin then racked up 51 rebound losses.
However, he insists that a few of them were “steals” that should have been called victories.
“There was a guy in Scotland, Jason Hastie, he represented Scotland at the Commonwealth Games, I dropped him and lost a point,” Deakin continued.
“I tried for ages to get a rematch. When I dropped him, they said it was a mistake, but I really hurt him.”
3
He also recalls a fight with Tim Witherspoon Jr, the son of two-time world heavyweight champion Tim Witherspoon, which he said should have gone the other way.
“I boxed Tim Witherspoon’s son in the last fight of the evening in the United States. I thought I had won, but his arm dislocated and I tried to jump him, but the referee stopped me. separated and put his arm back in place,” he said. .
“Then Roy Jones Jr, who was there as a special guest, came up to me in the locker room and said, ‘You haven’t lost this guy. You haven’t lost this.’ To have that from Roy Jones Jr. was incredible.”
Deakin finally ended his nine-year winless streak in 2015 when he beat Latvia’s Deniss Kornilovs on points.
“It was amazing, I cried in the ring,” Deakin said of his long-awaited victory. “I felt like a weight had been lifted off my shoulders…
“I trained very hard for this fight, running errands in the morning, doing everything I could to get the victory.
“And look, what can I say? This guy was shit. I wasn’t any better obviously, but he doesn’t take my label, I’m the worst boxer.”
Deakin had two more fights after beating Kornilovs – losing both at distance.
He retired from professional boxing in 2018 with a record of 2-53.
A brief stint in bare-knuckle boxing followed, where he didn’t fare much better, losing four and drawing one.
After coming up short in his last BKB outing against Ben Hatchett in July 2022, it looked like he had retired for good.
But now he is set to return to the ring on April 26 in an exhibition fight against Ben Day – a former foe in the paid ranks.
“I’m boxing Ben Day at the Selby Center in Tottenham,” Deakin said.
“Ben has his own gym and with COVID and everything, he ended up losing a lot of money and he has to keep his gym.
“I’m doing it as an exhibition to give him a little help. He’s my old rival, but he’s also a friend – and I might have something in the works for me too.”
We’ll know more about what’s in the works for Deakin later…
Sports
