pugilist

noun2

1. •
   One who fights with their fists, especially a professional prize fighter; a boxer.

   • I laugh and hoot at ye, ye cricket-players, ye pugilists, ye deaf Burkes and blind Bendigoes! — 1851
2. •
   (figurative) One who engages in rhetorical attacks, for himself or on behalf of another.

   • Mr. Patel has a long record as a fierce pugilist for Mr. Trump, pushing some of the pro-Trump orbit’s most dubious theories[.] — 2025