Sam Eggington to take fight to Bradley Skeete in Birmingham

Sam Eggington is prepared to brawl his way closer to an outright Lonsdale Belt when he takes on Bradley Skeete on Saturday.

The 22-year-old will have home advantage when defending his British and Commonwealth welterweight titles against Skeete in Birmingham, live on Sky Sports.

Eggington already has one British defence on his record having outpointed Dale Evans last time out, and the target is the three required to win a belt for good.

In the way this weekend is a Londoner billed as the more skilful boxer, and Eggington is determined to keep Skeete busy from the first bell.

He said: "People say I like a scrap and are saying this is a boxer against a brawler but if I choose to box it will still be competitive and if I choose to have a brawl it will be fun.

"I am not going to say I am a better boxer than Bradley but if I want to box it would be a competitive fight but I am not going to choose to do that through the 12 rounds.

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"It will be a hard fight at times for both of us but it will be harder for Skeete. If he is boxing me I would definitely have an easier time than if I am pressuring him. 

"It will be a good fight while it lasts but I am more than confident. I think there is always a possibility of a stoppage. I work hard and even the rounds that people win against me they work hard to win those. He might win a round but then the next round will mine.

"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."

Skeete's previous shot at the same belts ended in defeat to Frankie Gavin in 2014, and Eggington said: "I think I will do a better job than Frankie did."