Sam Eggington has warned Bilel Jkitou to be prepared for a war when they clash in Coventry on September 10.
Eggington makes the first defence of his WBC Silver middleweight crown against unbeaten Frenchman, Jkitou at the Coventry Skydome Arena, live on Channel 5.
‘The Savage’ secured a unanimous decision win over former world champion, Carlos Molina to win the belt in May and now has a ranking of #15 with the WBC after moving up from super welterweight.
The 27-year-old is expecting a tough challenge, but insists the challenger will not derail his hopes of an eventual world title shot.
“I know that Jkitou will be coming into the ring as a hungry challenger looking to knock me out and take my crown, but there’s no way he’s going to do that,” Eggington said.
“He’ll be going all out to beat me and make a name for himself but knowing that he wants to destroy my plans makes me train harder and makes me even more determined to smash him up. There’s no way he’s beating me or taking my belt.
“I’ve worked too long and hard in my career and I’m at the point of challenging for a world title so I cannot let all that blood, sweat and tears be for nothing.
“He’d better be prepared for a war in there on the night because I’m putting everything on the line.”
Jkitou takes a big step-up from the competition he’s faced so far in his career, but is confident of upsetting the Brit with a stoppage victory and returning to his native France as a hero.
“I’m very confident, I feel good I’m ready all year round, it’s a big challenge to fight Sam with a good belt so I had to accept the fight,” the 29-year-old said.
“He is a very good boxer with qualities and flaws, I think he has never boxed a boxer as smart as me. The tactics will make the difference in this fight.
“I think I would beat him by knockout or by stoppage in the 8th or 9th round. If he underestimates me that’s fine for me, it’s the truth in the ring.
MAIN EVENT ANNOUNCED-
👑 @eggington_sam will be making the first defence of his title against Bilel Jkitou on the Hennessy All Stars Night of Boxing.
Plus 2 new dates added!
🗓 Saturday 13th November
🗓 Saturday 11th December📺 All Live and Free on @channel5tv. pic.twitter.com/5ZaL3iyu0V
— Hennessy Sports (@HennessySports) August 16, 2021
“If I beat Eggington I’ll come back as a hero in France and with a good position on my standings, it’s one of the most important fights of my career.”
Eggington’s promoter, Mick Hennessy added: “This is set to be a real fiery encounter between Eggington and Jkitou.
“Styles make fights and with Eggington’s solid and relentless punching, never taking a step back and iron resilience matched against Jkitou’s aggressive, attacking style and hard-hitting, plus the volatile English-French rivalry thrown in, I believe it will produce some real fireworks on the night.”
Tickets are available to purchase now from only £40* from the Coventry Skydome Arena website https://iceaccount.co.uk/championship-boxing
View this post on Instagram
Also on the card will be cruiserweight talent Isaac Chamberlain, former British light heavyweight champion Shakan Pitters, Irish KO artist Stephen McKenna, middleweight River Wilson-Bent and Love Island star and super middleweight, Idris Virgo.
Michael Hennessy Jr, Tommy Welch, Kaisee Benjamin and Brett McGinty complete the bill.
Hennessy also revealed that he has two further Championship Boxing dates confirmed on Saturday 13 November at the Coventry Skydome Arena and Saturday 11 December (venue TBC) – both live and free on Channel 5 – with the full show line-up to be announced shortly.
