Graham Earl has warned Kevin Mitchell that he faces the toughest night of his life against Michael Katsidis on Saturday.
But the former WBU, Commonwealth and British lightweight champion says Mitchell has a chance to go one better than him and beat Katsidis and lift the Interim WBO World Lightweight title.
Earl, 31, fought the Aussie at Wembley Arena three years ago, climbing off the floor to badly hurt his opponent before retiring at the end of the fifth in a fight which remains one of the most thrilling ever witnessed in a British ring.
And he admits that Katsidis is the hardest hitter he has faced in a 30-fight career.
He also knows Mitchell well, and the pair shared a trainer at one point and have sparred together before.
"Kevin will never have been in with as big a puncher," said Earl. "The two hardest fights of my career were against Yuri Romanov and Katsidis.
"Romanov was heavy-handed but Katsidis was something else. When he hit me, the next thing I knew I was picking myself off the floor from a knockdown
"If Kevin is going to win, then he's got use his boxing skills, something that I didn't do but I should have.
"A week before the fight I decided to go in there and have a tear up against him, and looking back, that was the wrong decision.
"After three or four rounds I started boxing again and I felt I was the better boxer out of the two of us. The snap had gone from his punches, but I'd taken too much punishment and got pulled out.
"I can't see the fight on Saturday going the distance because someone is going to win this fight by stoppage.
"Both men have got a great chance. Either Katsidis will be too strong, or Kevin out-boxes him from the outside and the referee rescues him on a cut or through an accumulation of punches.
"Everyone keeps saying that Katsidis has had too many hard fights, but I think he might have at least one more big performance left in him. We'll know after the first couple if he's still got anything left in the tank.
"Kevin's a mate and I'm still in touch with Michael, so ideally I'd sit on the fence and not make a prediction.
"When Kevin began as a professional I sparred with him and I would give him a few tips. He's come on so much that he'd now be giving me tips, and he's got a great team around him who will have been working on his weaknesses.
"It's a very tough one to pick, but I'm worried that this fight might have come a little bit too soon for Kevin because it is a step up in class for him. But whatever happens this will be the most exciting fight over here in ages, and I will be as close to ringside as I possibly can."
Kevin Mitchell v Michael Katsidis is live on Sky Sports HD1 from 8pm on Saturday 15 May.
'Hammer Time' is headlined by Kevin Mitchell's challenge for the WBO Interim World Lightweight Championship against Michael Katsidis. A quality packed undercard includes the British Heavyweight Championship between Danny Williams and Derek Chisora; Olympic Gold medallist James DeGale challenges for the first title in his career - the WBA International Super-Middleweight Championship; and Britain's hottest young prospects Frankie Gavin, Billy Joe Saunders, Ricky Burns, Matthew Hall, Liam, Michael and Ryan Walsh, Vinny Mitchell, George Michael Carmen, Freddie Turner and Craig Evans.
Tickets for 'Hammer Time', priced at £30, £40, £50, £80, £150, £200 & £250, are available from:
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