RISING from the canvas and recovering from the most testing moment of his professional career to date proved to Luke Watkins that he has a warrior’s spirit.

The unbeaten Swindon cruiserweight found himself in uncharted waters as he was knocked clean off his feet by Latvian opponent Reinis Porozovs in the second round of the pair’s clash on Friday night but the 26-year-old hauled himself back and compensated emphatically by going on to claim a fifth-round stoppage victory.

A punishing right hook put Porozovs down and led to referee Jeff Hinds stepping in shortly afterwards, and Watkins felt that his powers of recovery proved plenty to those watching him but most importantly, himself.

“I can get hit, go down, and I can get up. You never know that until that happens,” said the Swindon fighter, whose record now stands at 8-0.

“It happened in front of my home town, in front of my home crowd, and that just showed them what I was made of and showed them what was inside of me, what my heart’s built of.

“When you get hurt in sparring, it’s things like that that prepare you for situations inside the ring and luckily, I can always hear my coach’s voice.

“I heard him (Paddy Fitzpatrick) shout ‘get up’ and I just jumped up. He knows how to get my attention.

“It’s better to learn these things about yourself and learn them early on.

“Earlier in your career is better than later. It’s happened to me now. I know what I can and can’t do, so I have confidence in myself.

“If I was in that situation again; now I know that I can get up as opposed to believing that I could.

“After the fight, adrenaline is so high and until you come down, crash, burn and watch the video –that’s when you learn the most.

“I just know what’s inside my heart. I know what I believe I can achieve and my heart also marries that with my thoughts, and now I hope people that watch me know what I’m made of.”