Veteran Derek Chisora outpointed Joe Joyce in a competitive and entertaining slugfest between two British heavyweights at London’s O2 Arena.

In a back-and-forth contest in which both men landed huge, telling blows, Chisora, 40, dropped Joyce, 38, in the ninth round.

At times it was uncomfortable viewing, two boxers past their peak taking unnecessary damage.

Chisora was awarded a unanimous decision with scores of 96-94, 96-94 and 97-92.

“I haven’t boxed for a year, but I had to dig deep,” he told TNT Sports.

“I was fit, but Joe is a good fighter. I knew I was going to drop him at one stage”.

In what he says was a 10th and final fight at the O2 Arena, Chisora won his 35th pro bout, with 13 losses, in a career spanning 17 years.

Joyce was once was once considered the dangerman of the division but a third career defeat in his last four fights leaves the ‘Juggernaut’s’ career hanging by a thread.

Earlier in the night, Dennis McCann, 23, captured the European super-bantamweight title with a points win over Ionut Baluta on the undercard, while super-featherweight Ryan Garner retained his WBC International title with a win over Archie Sharp.

Unbeaten heavyweight Moses Itauma, 19, knocked out 44-year-old Mariusz Wach in round two while Aadam Hamed – son of Prince Naseem Hamed – won his second pro fight by outpointing journeyman Georgi Velichkov.