Sam Eggington vs. Bradley Skeete: Fight Time, Date, Live Stream and TV Info
Sam Eggington puts his British and Commonwealth titles on the line when he faces fellow welterweight Bradley Skeete in Birmingham, England, on Saturday.
The fight tops a Matchroom Boxing bill at the Genting Arena that also includes appearances from not one but two of the Yafai brothers.
Khalid goes up against Dixon Flores for the vacant WBA Inter-Continental Super Flyweight strap, while younger sibling Gemal takes on Bobby Jenkinson for the Commonwealth super bantamweight belt.
When: Saturday, March 5, 10 p.m. GMT (5 p.m. ET)
Where: Genting Arena, Birmingham, England
TV: Sky Sports (UK—subscription required)
Live stream: SkyGo (subscription required)
Upward Curve
A run of eight straight wins, a streak that has seen him become British and Commonwealth champion along the way, has seen Eggington emerge from the boxing shadows in the Midlands.
The Savage (17-2, 9 KOs) has been beaten twice in his career, by Dale Evans and Johnny Coyle (in a Prizefighter tournament).
He avenged the loss to Welshman Evans—who replaced the injured Frankie Gavin—last time out, battling his way to a unanimous points win in their rematch in Birmingham.
However, Eggington has also shown he has the power to put away opponents inside the distance.
He impressively stopped the previously unbeaten Shayne Singleton in Hull, England, in March 2015:
While he has developed a strong fanbase for his love of a scrap, Eggington cannot afford to get by on just brawling as he moves up through the levels.
He wants to win a Lonsdale belt for keeps, per Stephen Turner of Sky Sports: "I am planning to win the British belt outright. It is my first fight of the year and this is my mandatory and hopefully by the middle of the year I can have a voluntary and win the belt outright and be pushing on for other things."
For that to happen, the 22-year-old has to clear a tricky hurdle in Skeete on Saturday night.
But, the prospect of facing a technically gifted fighter doesn't worry Eggington, per Tim Hobbs of Sky Sports: "It's a good 50-50 fight, but I am more than confident I will do more than a good job on him."
Capital Gains
Londoner Skeete (22-1, 10 KOs) will be fighting outside the English capital for the first time in his professional career.
However, the 28-year-old is more experienced than his next opponent, having boxed 140 rounds compared to Eggington's total of 99, and has won the WBO European belt already.
He also claimed the English title by defeating veteran Colin Lynes in 2013, but the biggest name on Skeete's record belongs to the only man to beat him so far.
Former amateur world champion Gavin denied Skeete in his first attempt to win the British and Commonwealth belts in 2014, winning a tight contest on points at the ExCel Arena in London.
Skeete's response to the setback has been impressive. He's reeled off four straight wins since, setting him up for a second crack at the titles.
Per Matchroom Boxing, the mandatory challenger is ready to do whatever it takes to come out on top:
"It is a fight and anything can happen. I know I can’t just go in there and box my way through the fight. I have seen Sam fight and I know what he is all about so I know there will be times I will need to fight and times I will need to box. It is a big arena, a headline fight, and I am expecting a good, hard fight.
"
Eggington acknowledged his rival's skills at the pre-fight press conference, per Sky Sports' Ed Robinson on Twitter:
Skeete has the style but now must show he has the substance to come through a tough assignment on the road.
Prediction
An intriguing clash between two talented domestic fighters could go either way.
Per Odds Shark, Skeete is the slight underdog at 6-5. However, if he does his level best to avoid being dragged into a war with Eggington, the visitor's technical abilities can see him prevail.
It has the ingredients to be a cracker, with the challenger winning on points after 12 absorbing rounds.
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