EXCLUSIVE
'Britain's worst boxer' Robin Deakin has a unique story to tell.
'Rockin Robin' lost 53 of his 55 professional fights and holds the unfavourable distinction of suffering the longest losing streak in professional boxing history - a remarkable 51-fight barren run.
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At one point, Deakin lost so many fights that the British Boxing Board of Control (BBBofC) withdrew his licence over concerns he would never win again.
But victory wasn't the be-all and end-all for Deakin - just getting into the ring was an achievement in itself.
As he first came into the world, Deakin wasn't expected to live, let alone box.
"I was born three months premature," he told talkSPORT.com.
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"The doctors didn't think I was going to make it but I'm a miracle kid. I made it and became who I am today."
When Deakin was born he was diagnosed with talipes, better known as club foot.
In his youth, he endured over 40 operations and couldn't walk unaided until he was six years old.
"When I was in my mum's womb my legs got twisted," he added.
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"I've got two club feet, and I've got no Achilles tendon on my left leg either so it's weak and very skinny which made it hard for me to move properly."
Deakin took up boxing in a bid to improve his mobility and quickly fell in love with the sport.
As an amateur, he won 56 out of 76 bouts and turned over as a professional under Frank Warren's Queensbury Promotions with full intentions of boxing on the left-hand side of the bill.
He won his first pro fight against Shaun Watson in 2006 at the iconic York Hall in Bethnal Green, but then lost his second bout to Eduards Krauklis.
This prompted the Crawley brawler to rethink his career path and become a journeyman.
"The tickets were flying out the door [for my first two fights]," he recalled.
"In my second fight, I boxed on the undercard of Michael Sprott vs Audley Harrison at Wembley Arena.
"I boxed a lad for Latvia, he was c***. He was a journeyman himself and I lost by a point...
"After that fight, I left Frank Warren and went on the road [as a journeyman]."
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Deakin went on to rack up 51 defeats on the bounce.
However, he insists a few of them were 'robberies' that should have been marked down as wins.
"There was a guy in Scotland, Jason Hastie, he represented Scotland in the Commonwealth Games, I dropped him and I lost that one by one point," Deakin continued.
"I tried for ages to get a rematch. When I dropped him they said it was a slip but I properly hurt him."
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He also recalls a fight with Tim Witherspoon Jr, the son of two-time heavyweight world champion, Tim Witherspoon, that he feels should have gone the other way.
"I boxed Tim Witherspoon's son in the last contest of the night in the United States. I thought I won, but his arm dislocated and I tried pouncing on him, but the referee pulled me apart and popped his arm back in," he said.
"Afterwards, Roy Jones Jr, who was there as a special guest, came up to me in the dressing room and told me, 'You didn't lose that guy. You didn't lose that.' Having that from Roy Jones Jr. was amazing."
Deakin eventually snapped his nine-year winless streak in 2015 when he bested Deniss Kornilovs of Latvia on points.
"It felt incredible, I cried in the ring," said Deakin of his long overdue win. "It felt like a weight had been lifted from my shoulders...
"I trained so hard for that fight, doing the runs in the morning, doing everything I could to get the win.
"And listen, what can I say? The geezer was s***. I was no better obviously, but he's not taking my tag, I'm the worst boxer."
Deakin had two more fights after beating Kornilovs - losing both inside the distance.
He retired from professional boxing in 2018 with a record of 2-53.
A brief stint in bare-knuckle boxing followed, where he didn't fare much better, losing four and drawing one.
After falling short in his most recent BKB outing against Ben Hatchett in July 2022 it seemed as though he had retired for good.
But now he is set to return to the ring on April 26 in an exhibition bout against Ben Day - a former foe in the paid ranks.
"I'm boxing Ben Day at the Selby Centre in Tottenham," Deakin declared.
"Ben's got his own gym and with COVID and everything he ended up losing a lot of money and he needs to keep his gym.
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“I'm doing it as an exhibition to give him a bit of help. He's my old rival but he's also a friend - and I might have something in the pipeline for myself as well."
More on what is in the pipeline for Deakin later...