Sam Eggington could fight for four belts
Four belts could be on the line when Stourbridge's Sam Eggington takes top billing against Bradley Skeete in Birmingham next month.
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Eggington will take on Skeete in the headliner at the Genting Arena on Saturday March 5, writes Craig Birch.
'The Savage' defends his British and Commonwealth welterweight titles against his mandatory challenger, on a Matchroom Boxing show live on Sky Sports.
And Eggington's WBC International Silver belt, along with Skeete's WBO European crown, could also be put up-for-grabs.
The contest will cross the promoters' divide, as Frank Warren managed Londoner Skeete competes on a Matchroom show after Eddie Hearn won the purse bids.
It will now also be put to the British Boxing Board of Control that the WBC and WBO straps be involved in the bout, which was actually called for by Warren's representative Andy Ayling.
He's confident his man will come to the West Midlands and do a job on the champion, predicting Skeete "can run away with it on points, maybe even a mid-to-late stoppage."
Eggington agrees it might not go all the way, but insists he'll be the one dishing out a beating to his second challenger, after seeing over Dale Evans over-the-distance.
There's no room for error, with the 21-year-old aware the prospect of a Lonsdale belt fight against Frankie Gavin later in the year is also being risked.
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He said: "Bradley's not daft, he'll stick to his skills and box on the inside if he has to. He's a hard opponent, I know that, but I can't see him lasting the distance with me.
"Even if I chose to just box him, it would still be a competitive fight for 12 rounds, but I'm not going to do that. He'll have to work hard for everything he gets against me.
"If I do what I need to, I will come out with the win and that will be my mandatory out of the way. After that, I want to go and win the belt outright."
Skeete claims he's unfazed at appearing on a rival bill, with the 28-year-old having worked his way into the No 1 contender's position since his sole pro defeat in November 2014.
He was outpointed in all-southpaw battle with Gavin, when both were under the Warren banner, when his Brummie nemesis was in possession of the British and Commonwealth titles.
He said: "Politics get put aside now, I'll be up here to fight on their show and I'm bringing a lot of people to Birmingham with me.
"I know I can't just go in there and think I can box my way through the fight. I've seen Sam and I know there's going to be times when I'll have to mix it up.
"These are the fights I want to be in, at these big arenas headlining. I've come up short before, but I won't this time. I'm going home with the belts."
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Essington's Ben Wilkes will undertake his step up elsewhere on the card and is the underdog against the all-action Cello Renda, in an eliminator for the English middleweight title.
Wilkes has nine wins from 10 from what has been a stop-start pro career since turning pro in 2009, and he's adamant he's got the skills to upset the form book.
He said: "It's a big opportunity for me and he's going to get a shock. He's not learned about what I have got yet. He knows nothing about me.
"People who have watched me box will known I'm quite an active fighter, I set a high pace and I don't think he's got the legs anymore to keep up for 10 rounds.
"On paper, no one has given me a chance in hell but, if I perform as I can do, I'm confident I can get in there and spring a shock."
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The 29-year-old shed over five-and-half stone to make his debut all that time ago, but spent nearly five years out of the ring after a third round TKO defeat to Janis Cernauskis.
Renda, 30, has passed a personal milestone in terms of experience and has put on two memorable runs to Prizefighter finals, plus the famous 'double knockdown' with Paul Samuels.
He said: "I'm not called 'Mr Dangerous' for nothing and I'm ready for anything that Ben brings to the table. I've had 40 fights and I've been a pro since I was 18 - I've seen everything in there.
"I read somewhere that he lost a lot of weight to start of boxing again. Well when he was dropping pounds, I was dropping opponents."
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Another major domestic title fight and two clashes for Midlands belts also appear, with both Yafai brothers in action.
British champion Kal is closing in on the world stage and will tackle Moises Flores in an official 12-round eliminator for Kohei Kono's WBA super flyweight title.
Younger sibling Gamal goes after his first domestic crown, challenging for Bobby Jenkinson's newly-won Commonwealth super bantamweight strap.
More Brummies step through the ropes for area honours and a Battle of Birmingham will come at lightweight, as Michael Rooney and Marcus Ffrench meet for the vacant strap.
New Midlands titlist Karl Wiggins, who knocked out Stafford's Rob Hunt in two rounds to take the crown, defends at welter for the first time against Derby's Ryan Fields.
Tickets are on general sale priced at £40, £60 and £100 from www.theticketfactory.com. VIP upgrades, costing £150, can be bought exclusively at www.matchroomboxing.com.
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