Etymology

put up one's dukes

Today it means: To raise one's clenched fists in front of one's body and stand in a threatening or defiant manner, in preparation for a fistfight. Full definition →

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The story

Possibly by analogy to a king or other ruler summoning his dukes, and by extension the duke's knights or other soldiers, to battle an enemy. Another possibility is Cockney rhyming slang as explained at duke. It could also be a convoluted--though erroneous--reference to the 9th Marquess of Queensberry (after whom the rules for modern boxing were initially named).

Etymology from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.