Joe Bowker
British boxer
- Born
- June 1881, England
- Died
- 1955
- Citizenship
- United Kingdom, United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland
- Sport
- boxing
- Discipline
- bantamweight
- Occupation
- boxer
Joe Bowker (12 June 1881 – 31 October 1955) was a British boxer who was world bantamweight champion from 1904 to 1905. His defeat of Frankie Neil on 17 October in London for the world bantamweight title was acclaimed as the most remarkable event in the sport in 1904.
During his career, Bowker also won the European and British bantamweight titles, and the British featherweight title, holding the world bantamweight and British featherweight titles simultaneously from March to October 1905. In 51 professional fights, he compiled a career record of 40 wins, 8 losses and one draw with two no-decisions. Fourteen wins came by knockout.
He was regarded as a "wonderfully clever" fighter. More than 40 years after Bowker retired from the ring, British boxing historian Maurice Golesworthy wrote of him: "Indeed, there are many authorities who rate Joe Bowker as the most skillful boxer ever produced in this country. That may be an exaggeration, but it is safe to say that there have been few better."
External links
Facts from Wikidata Q6208737 (CC0); quoted introduction from English Wikipedia (CC BY-SA 4.0). Data retrieved 2026-10-22.
Data: Wikidata (CC0 1.0); Wikipedia (English) (CC BY-SA 4.0). Retrieved 2026-10-22.