LUKE Watkins maintained his unblemished record with a hard-fought points win over Tony Cruise at the York Hall last night.

The Swindon cruiserweight did not have things all his own way at the home of British boxing as he claimed a 58-56 success.

However, the Paddy Fitzpatrick-trained boxer says that he can take a lot from his seventh win from as many contests.

“One thing I know is that I have got a good chin,” the 26-year-old told the Advertiser. “I had to eat some proper heavy cruiserweight shots.

“He never wobbled me or had me in trouble, but they were big, big hard shots.

“For me, I think score was fair reflection. Maybe you could have scored it another round for me, but I’m happy with how it went.

“I learnt a lot about myself, what I’m capable of and what level I’m at.

“Paddy told me some positives to take from the fight and some negatives, but that can wait – I’m going to enjoy the win and then we can start dissecting it properly.”

Watkins says that he was amazed by the atmosphere as he walked out at the iconic Bethnal Green arena.

“When I started my ring walk I just stopped, looked around and the place was buzzing – it was mental,” he said.

“It is such a great place to box at and I’m so happy that I’ve done it.”

Watkins, who is now ranked 12th in Great Britain by BoxRec.com following his win over Cruise, will return to the York Hall on July 16, which will also see Penhill’s Kelvin Young face Jack Morris for the vacant Southern Area light-heavyweight title.

‘The Duke’ is potentially closing in on a Southern Area title-shot, with current champion Wadi Camacho defending his belt on the same July bill.

“If I get sanctioned for the Southern Area, then I’ll go for it,” Watkins added. “There are loads of fights on the July bill.

“Hopefully I can go on early enough so that I can watch the Camacho fight.”