DEREK CHISORA named a journeyman heavyweight with 24 DEFEATS as the toughest puncher he has ever faced.
Veteran Chisora, 40, is preparing for his 48th professional fight on Saturday night when he faces British rival Joe Joyce at the O2.
The Finchley-born fighter never shied away from any opponent during his career, facing almost all the top names from different generations.
They included Tyson Fury three times, Vitali Klitschko, David Haye, Kubrat Pulev twice, Dillian Whyte twice, Carlos Takam, Oleksandr Usyk and Joseph Parker twice.
However, he didn’t mention any of them when asked about the biggest puncher he’s ever been in the ring with.
The award goes to retired fighter Butlin, 48, who hung up his gloves in 2016 with a record of 16 wins, 24 losses and one draw.
Chisora fought him in January 2008 in his fourth professional fight and scored a four-round points victory.
Even so, he now reports the fight with Butlin, who only defeated four men during his career, as quite harrowing.
Speaking with talkSPORTChisora said: “Do you remember this guy Paul Butlin?
“He hit me so hard I thought the referee needed to check his gloves.
CASINO SPECIAL – BEST CASINO WELCOME OFFERS
“I’ll never forget when he went boom, boom and I thought ‘Oh my God, someone needs to check this guy’s gloves.’
“I went back to the corner and Don [Charles] [Chisora’s former trainer] told me you need to move, you can’t just stand there.
“The guy was strong and hit me with a body shot and I thought ‘No, I need to box this guy’.”
Chisora insisted he will fight twice more after his clash with Joyce as he seeks to reach 50 professional fights.
This is despite many in boxing calling for him to stop, as he has been in countless brutal fights during his career.
He has won just two of his last six fights, but raised his hand last time out in a unanimous decision victory over Gerald Washington in August.
Inside the Gypsy King’s royal court
TYSON FURY is one of the greatest characters in sport.
This story originally appeared on The-sun.com read the full story