Sam Noakes

Maidstone’s lightweight boxer Sam Noakes was born on July 20, 1997, and is the brother of welterweight Sean Noakes. Sam, the younger of the two, is promoted by Queensberry Promotions and is a former roofer who has also worked at fast-food chain McDonald’s. Nicknamed ‘Midge’, Noakes fought 53 times as an amateur, winning 47 and losing six.

Noakes made his professional debut on September 27, 2019, at the Royal Albert Hall in London. He quickly became known for his punching power winning his first 12 fights inside the scheduled distances. Noakes picked up his first domestic title in April 2023, beating Karthik Sathish Kumar in two rounds.

The opponents continued to fall, including Lewis Sylvester who survived until the fourth round in February 2024 before his corner threw in the towel. The win earned Noakes the British lightweight title continuing his goal to do things the ‘traditional way’. “You’ve got to pay your dues in that respect and do it the proper way,” he said before winning the Lonsdale belt.

Next came the European title, which coincided with Noakes hearing the final bell for the first time in his career. Frenchman Yvan Mendy took Noakes the 12 rounds in April 2024 but was on the wrong end of a shut-out (120-108) on all three scorecards. “I’m a bit gutted that I lost the streak,” Noakes said. 

A successful first defence against Gianluca Ceglia, forcing the Italian to retire in round eight, restarted the Noakes streak. The unbeaten European Champion is currently ranked at four with the WBO as he looks to bigger fights and bigger titles.

Alan Smith

Since turning professional in 2019, Noakes has been trained by Alan Smith at the busy iBox Gym in Bromley.