Adam Watt

Adam Watt
Born	(1967-11-10) 10 November 1967 Manly, New South Wales, Australia
Other names	Lights Out, The Technician
Height	1.92 m (6 ft 4 in)
Weight	86.5 kg (191 lb; 13.62 st)
Style	Seidokaikan karate
Trainer	Tim Riley, Kazuyoshi Ishii Chan Cheuk-fai Mark Pitts, Jeff Fenech, Johnny Lewis
Professional boxing record
Total	18
Wins	14
By knockout	14
Losses	4
By knockout	4
Kickboxing record
Total	50
Wins	37
By knockout	30
Losses	12
Draws	1
Last updated on: 3 October 2021

Adam Watt (born 10 November 1967) is an Australian former boxer and kickboxer. He has studied many forms of martial arts, kickboxing, Zen Chi Ryu, Seido-kaikan karate, and boxing. Watt became the first non Japanese live-in student of Seidokaikan and the first foreigner to reach the final of the Karate World Cup. His nickname was "The Technician" because of his high level karate and boxing skills, and one punch knock out power. He has won many world kickboxing titles, and reached the top ten of the highly respected World Boxing Council's and World Boxing Organisation's (W.B.C and WBO) Cruiserweight ratings. In 2000, he challenged WBO cruiserweight champion Johnny Nelson for his title. Watt holds the notable distinction of being the first athlete to fight for world Karate, Kickboxing, Shootboxing and Boxing titles.

Watt defeated Manson Gibson in Japan to win the World Shootboxing light-heavyweight title. Watt won the Australian Cruiserweight title in March 2000 in the ANBF "Fight of the Year" against Victorian Tosca Petridis, and was the first Australian to win the Commonwealth Cruiserweight Boxing title. Adam also achieved success in Japan's K-1 Kickboxing tournaments, winning K-1 Oceania, knocking out highly regarded South African Mike Bernardo in 2001 amongst other great victories.

Arrest and assault and fight for justice

In September 2008, Watt was arrested for conspiring to import chemical precursors to the drug methamphetamine. While Watt was on remand awaiting trial, he was hit from behind with a sandwich toaster inside a pillow case. When ambulance officers reached Watt he was clinically dead, but they managed to revive him at the scene. The extent of his injuries has not been made public. Following the attempt on his life, Adam was held in maximum security conditions and denied urgent medical treatment for nearly one year. His condition continued to deteriorate until eventually a brain injury specialist was brought to the jail to examine him. A Magistrate later described his untreated injuries as "life-threatening".

“I would think that blow that we saw on the video, it could have easily have killed him. … he is lucky he is alive, he is badly injured. Dr Adler’s report expressly says this is urgent, this is a real worry … I have no faith in the Justice Health system – None at all.”

“I am not going to countenance a situation whereby even in a strong case, in a very serious case like this, a person is to be almost literally sacrificed, that is, Mr Watt is put at extreme risk of physical maiming through the consequences of his injury or even worse perhaps. It is highly speculative to say he will die, he may not, but even if it is only maiming there is a great risk.” ruled Magistrate Pierce

Upon his release, Watt was admitted as an outpatient at the Royal Rehabilitation Centre Sydney / brain injury clinic for injuries untreated: “Global cognitive defects: Concentration problems, memory difficulties, and executive dysfunction. As well as post-traumatic stress disorder, including hypervigilance, re-experiencing the trauma, a persistent feeling of being on edge, thoughts racing and sleep disturbance”. Due to the year-long delay in receiving a medical diagnosis, Watt's treatment focused on providing him with the tools to live with his disability rather than repairing the damage.

Whilst undergoing medical treatment, Watt embarked on what one legal practitioner described in court as "a crusade" to not only defend himself but also to have the Australian Human Rights Commission hold NSW Corrective Services accountable for his mistreatment.

In 2014 Watt was found unfit to stand trial on the import charge and the Crown withdrew the Supply charge.

In 2018, Adam Watt was awarded compensation against the State for failing its duty of care. The 2018 findings of the Honourable Justice Garling in the NSW Supreme Court, Watt v State of NSW [2018] NSWSC 1926 which considered the s54 Civil Liability Act 2002 (NSW) Justice Garling ruled against the State. “The risk of Mr. Watt suffering physical harm was reasonably foreseeable and not insignificant”.

In assessing the injuries, the State acknowledged that the 15% permanent impairment threshold had been exceeded. Consequently, due to the State’s breach of duty of care, the Court found that Watt had sustained a traumatic brain injury and a permanent disability

In 2023, the Australian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) found that Corrective Services NSW, acting on behalf of the Commonwealth, had denied Adam Watt his human rights.

The president of the AHRC found that while Watt was held on remand, he was treated in a manner inconsistent with his right to be treated with dignity and humanity under Article 10(1) of the ICCPR. The president also found that Watt was denied his right to communicate in confidence with legal counsel of his choosing (protected by article 14(3)(b) of the ICCPR) and his right to privacy (protected by article 17 of the ICCPR).

Career

• Kickboxing
  • 2002 K-1 World Grand Prix Preliminary Melbourne Champion
  • 2001 K-1 World Grand Prix in Fukuoka Repechage B Runner-Up
  • 2001 K-1 World Grand Prix in Osaka Runner-Up
  • 2000 ISKA World International Rules Light Cruiserweight Champion
  • 1997 ISKA World Muay Thai Light Cruiserweight Champion
  • 1995 Shoot Boxing World Heavyweight Champion
  • 1993 UKF World Cruiserweight Champion
  • WKA World Cruiserweight Champion
• Boxing
  • 2000-01 British Commonwealth Cruiserweight Champion
  • 2000 Australian Cruiserweight Champion
  • 1999-00 OPBF Cruiserweight Champion (1 title defense)
  • 1999 OBA Cruiserweight Champion (1 title defense)
  • 1997-98 PABA Cruiserweight Champion

Previous champion: Bruce Scott	British Commonwealth 10th Cruiserweight champion 24 June 2000 – 2001	Next champion: Bruce Scott
Previous champion: Tosca Petridis	Australian Cruiserweight 13th champion 24 March 2000 – 2000	Next champion: Daniel Rowsell
Previous champion: Mosese Sorovi	OPBF Cruiserweight 8th champion 17 September 1999 - July 2000	Next champion: Roman Kovalchuk
Previous champion: Phil Gregory	OBA Cruiserweight champion 16 January 1999 – 5 April 1999	Next champion: unknown
Previous champion: Valery Vikhor	PABA Cruiserweight 3rd champion 6 December 1997 – 5 April 1998	Next champion: Valery Vikhor

Boxing record

Boxing Record

14 Wins (14 (T)KO's), 4 Losses
Date	Result	Opponent	Venue	Location	Method	Round	Time	Record
2001-02-17	Loss	Sebastiaan Rothmann	Carnival City Casino	Brakpen, South Africa	KO	8 (12)		14-4
Fight was for Rothmann's W.B.U. Cruiserweight World title.
2000-10-07	Loss	Johnny Nelson	Doncaster Dome	Doncaster, England, UK	KO	5 (12)	2:12	14-3
Fight was for Nelon's W.B.O. Cruiserweight World title.
24 Jun 2000	Win	Bruce Scott	Hampden Park	Glasgow, Scotland, UK	TKO	4 (12)		14-2
Wins vacant Commonwealth (British Empire) Cruiserweight title.
2000-03-24	Win	Tosca Petridis	Hornsby RSL Club	Sydney, Australia	TKO	7 (12)	2:36	13-2
Wins Petridis's Australian Cruiserweight title and retains O.P.B.F. Cruiserweight title.
2000-02-04	Win	Caine Melbourne	Star City Casino	Sydney, Australia	KO	3 (8)		12-2
1999-10-16	Win	Lightning Lupe	Omnisports Stadium	Nouméa, New Caledonia	TKO	4 (12)		11-2
Retains O.B.A. Cruiserweight title.
1999-09-17	Win	Mosese Sorovi	Manly Warringah Leagues Club	Sydney, Australia	TKO	1 (12)	2:04	10-2
Wins Sorovi's O.P.B.F. Cruiserweight title.
1999-08-05	Win	Phil Gregory	Willoughby Town Hall	Sydney, Australia	KO	2 (6)		9-2
1999-03-15	Loss	Wayne Braithwaite	Star City Casino	Sydney, Australia	KO	1 (12)	2:37	8-2
Fight was for vacant W.B.U. Cruiserweight World title.
1999-01-16	Win	Phil Gregory	Alexandria Basketball Stadium	Sydney, Australia	TKO	3 (12)		8-1
Wins vacant O.B.A. Cruiserweight title.
1998-08-27	Win	Simon Whiu	South Sydney Junior Rugby League Club	Sydney, Australia	KO	3		7-1
1998-04-05	Loss	Valeriy Vykhor	Newcastle Entertainment Centre	Newcastle, Australia	TKO	1 (12)		6-1
Loses P.A.B.A. Cruiserweight title.
1998-02-28	Win	Dean Turvey	Parramatta RSL Club	Sydney, Australia	KO	2 (10)	2:43	6-0
1997-12-06	Win	Kevin Wagstaff	Stockland Stadium	Townsville, Australia	KO	1 (12)	2:36	5-0
Wins vacant P.A.B.A. Cruiserweight title.
1997-09-12	Win	Nat Ledua	Manly Warringah Leagues Club	Sydney, Australia	KO	1 (10)	1:55	4-0
1997-05-02	Win	Joe Kiwi Kingi	Dee Why RSL Club	Sydney, Australia	TKO	3 (10)	1:58	3-0
1997-02-10	Win	Ernie Valentine	Memorial Auditorium	Sacramento, California, USA	KO	1		2-0
1996-11-22	Win	Phil Gregory	Manly Warringah Leagues Club	Sydney, Australia	KO	1 (8)		1-0
Makes professional boxing debut.
Legend:   Win   Loss   Draw/No contest   Notes

Kickboxing record

Kickboxing Record

37 Wins (30 (T)KO's, 7 Decisions), 12 Losses, 1 Draw
Date	Result	Opponent	Event	Location	Method	Round	Time
2002-10-11	Loss	Gurkan Ozkan		Sydney, Australia	Decision (Unanimous)	6	2:00
2002-08-17	Loss	Pavel Majer	K-1 World Grand Prix 2002 in Las Vegas Quarterfinals	Las Vegas, Nevada, USA	Decision (Unanimous)	3	3:00
2002-02-18	Win	Andrew Peck	K-1 World Grand Prix 2002 Preliminary Melbourne Final	Melbourne, Australia	KO	1	1:50
Wins the K-1 World Grand Prix 2002 Preliminary Melbourne and qualifies for the K-1 World Grand Prix 2002 in Las Vegas.
2002-02-18	Win	Jason Suttie	K-1 World Grand Prix 2002 Preliminary Melbourne Semifinals	Melbourne, Australia	Decision (Unanimous)	3	3:00
2002-02-18	Win	Clay Aumitagi	K-1 World Grand Prix 2002 Preliminary Melbourne Quarterfinals	Melbourne, Australia	TKO	2	1:48
2001-12-08	Loss	Mike Bernardo	K-1 World Grand Prix 2001 Reserve fight	Tokyo, Japan	Decision (Unanimous)	3	3:00
2001-10-08	Loss	Mark Hunt	K-1 World Grand Prix 2001 in Fukuoka Final	Fukuoka, Japan	TKO (Doctor stoppage)	3	1:38
Despite defeat, will be invited to the K-1 World Grand Prix 2001 as a reservist.
2001-10-08	Win	Mike Bernardo	K-1 World Grand Prix 2001 in Fukuoka Semifinals	Fukuoka, Japan	TKO (2 knockdowns/Punch)	1	2:27
2001-04-29	Loss	Jérôme Le Banner	K-1 World Grand Prix 2001 in Osaka Final	Osaka, Japan	KO (Punches)	1	0:46
2001-04-29	Win	Peter Graham	K-1 World Grand Prix 2001 in Osaka Semifinals	Osaka, Japan	KO (Punch)	2	1:29
2001-04-29	Loss	Ray Sefo	K-1 World Grand Prix 2001 in Osaka Quarterfinals	Osaka, Japan	TKO (Right hook)	1	2:20
Despite defeat, advances to semifinals due to injury suffered by Ray Sefo.
1996-06-02	Loss	Perry Telgt	K-1 Fight Night II	Zurich, Switzerland	TKO (Doctor stoppage)	3	1:05
1996	Win	Errol Parris		Sydney, Australia	KO (Left hook)	2	1:14
Retains the UKF World Cruiserweight title.
1995-10-27	Win	Bill Lasfar	Shoot Boxing S-cup BOMBER	Tokyo, Japan	KO	2	3:40
Wins the vacant Shoot Boxing World Heavyweight title.
1995-08-24	Win	Manson Gibson	Shoot Boxing S-CUP Thunder and lightning	Tokyo, Japan	Decision	5	3:00
1994-05-08	Loss	Artem Tonoyan	K-2 Plus Tournament 1994 Quarterfinals	Amsterdam, Netherlands	KO	1
1993-12-29	Loss	Ernesto Hoost	K-2 Grand Prix '93 Semifinals	Tokyo, Japan	TKO (2 knockdowns/Right high kick)	1	2:13
1993-12-29	Win	Bob Zengifo	K-2 Grand Prix '93 Quarterfinals	Tokyo, Japan	KO (Spinning back fist)	1	0:43
1993-11-15	Win	Jan Lomulder	K-1 Andy's Glove	Tokyo, Japan	TKO (Doctor stoppage)	2	2:36
1993-09-04	Win	Gerard Gordeau	K-1 Illusion	Tokyo, Japan	KO (Spinning back fist)	2	2:07
1993-06-25	Win	Lavelle Robinson	K-1 Sanctuary III	Osaka, Japan	Decision (Unanimous)	5	3:00
Wins the UKF World Cruiserweight title.
1993-05-22	Win	Kaneko Machida	AJKF Evolution Step-3	Tokyo, Japan	TKO (Referee stoppage/Right low kick)	4	2:22
1993-03-30	Win	Nobuki Iwashita	Korakuen Experiment: Round 2	Tokyo, Japan	KO	1	1:56
1993-03-30	Win	Shinjiro Aoki	K-1 Sanctuary I	Tokyo, Japan	KO	1	0:40
1992-12-11	Loss	Rob Kaman		Tokyo, Japan	KO
1992-10-04	Loss	Stan Longinidis	Seido Kaikan '92 Karate World Cup Kakutogi Olympic III	Japan	TKO (Dislocated shoulder)	1
Watt was injured when both fighters fell out of the ring.
1992-08-29	Loss	Mike Vieira		San Jose, California	KO (Punch)	2	2:05
Fight was for the UMT World Cruiserweight title.
1992-05-16	Loss	Peter Aerts	Rings Mega Battle 4th	Tokyo, Japan	KO	2	2:46
1992-03-26	Loss	Rob Kaman	Seido Kaikan Kakutogi Olympic I	Tokyo, Japan	KO	2	2:18
1992-03-05	Draw	Hans Nyman	Mega Battle II: Ibuki	Amagasaki, Japan	Decision draw	5	3:00
Legend:   Win   Loss   Draw/No contest   Notes

See also

• List of male kickboxers

External links

• Boxing record for Adam Watt from BoxRec (registration required)
• Fighter's profile: Adam Watt, at K-1 site.