Sam Eggington's success story could be ruined by Bradley Skeete, says Frankie Gavin

Frankie Gavin fears that Sam Eggington's rise up the welterweight rankings could be cut short by Bradley Skeete.

Eggington will defend his British and Commonwealth titles against Skeete this Saturday night, live on Sky Sports.

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Back in October, Gavin was due to face Eggington before a foot injury forced him to pull out of the scheduled bout and he will be keeping a close eye on his hometown rival this weekend.

The 30-year-old has already defeated Skeete on points after a tactical battle and believes the south Londoner will pose serious problems to Eggington.

"Whoever gets their tactics off will be a clear winner," Gavin told Sky Sports. "Skeete is good, he's very awkward and accurate.

"If Sam gets on top of him, Sam will beat him. But if Bradley can stick to his tactics and boxes, I think he will beat Sam easy.

"Brad is a lot taller than anyone Sam has been boxing. I saw Sam fight Dave Ryan a few years back, who also has a good jab, and that was a close fight. I think this fight is going to be hard for Sam."

Eggington is one of the success stories of British boxing and has transformed his fortunes since a defeat in Prizefighter.

A fearless attitude has earned Eggington a growing number of fans, but Gavin admits the 22-year-old still needs to answer a few more questions if he wants to reach the highest level in the sport.

"It just depends, because he gets hit a hell of a lot," said Gavin, who has also held the British and Commonwealth belts. "I've seen him spar and he fights the same in sparring.

The European title is there for the taking. Gianluca Branco and Leonard Bundu are not getting any younger.

"It's about how much longer you can go on like that? I don't think he really changes his style. Every fight he seems to get marked, gets hit a lot. I'm not sure how much further he can go, but at the end of the day he didn't think he would get to British level. He's surpassed that now.

"The European title is there for the taking. Gianluca Branco and Leonard Bundu are not getting any younger."

Former WBO middleweight champion Andy Lee is thought to have aided Skeete's preparations and Gavin feels he could emerge with a points win after an exciting battle.

"If he starts standing there having a trade with Sam, I think Sam will beat him," said Gavin. "If he sticks to his gameplan, Skeete can come through some sticky moments to win clearly on points.

"Brad's had great sparring recently with the likes of Andy Lee. If he's taking Andy Lee's shots - I know it's bigger gloves in sparring - he'll take Sam's shots."

Watch Sam Eggington's British and Commonwealth title clash with Bradley Skeete this Saturday, with live coverage starting at 8pm on Sky Sports 1.