Sam Eggington targets world title after winning ‘a war’
Stourbridge’s Sam Eggington has his sights set firmly on a world title fight after he overcame Bilel Jkitou in a thrilling and relentless bout on Friday.
The brave and gutsy Eggington received a cut above the eye and was left swollen all over his face but he battled through to win on a split points decision at the Coventry Skydome Arena.
The fight had seen Eggington put his WBC Silver Middleweight title on the line for the first time.
Jkitou, meanwhile, arrived for his UK debut with a 15-fight unbeaten record.
It was the Frenchman who made the brighter start in the opening rounds before Eggerton turned the bout into a brawl.
Sticking close to each other, the pair traded big hooks, uppercuts and body shots with both fighters having moments of success. In the fourth round, Bilel landed a good left hook.
By the sixth round it was Eggington landing more shots.
And a thrilling eighth saw Jkitou unleashed some big shots that put Eggington on the ropes.
The Stourbridge fighter, though, quickly fired back and later in the round landed his own five-punch combination close up.
With the crowd on their feet, the final three rounds were fought at a ferocious pace.
In what was some sensational back-and-forth action – Eggington’s face bore the brunt of a difficult night.
But in the end he was the man with his armed raised in the air.
One judge scored the fight 116-112 to Jkitou but the other two favoured Eggington.
The judged the fight 117-111 and 117-112.
“I was fit and ready but I made harder work of it than I should have,” Eggington said.
“I should have boxed a bit more early on in the fight and I gave him ground a bit and I enjoy it most of the time, but when you do that it’s hard to get out of it so I slipped into trying to box and reverted back into going in and having a war.
“He caught me in the eye with jabs a few times and a lot of heads, I thought the split was a bit harsh.
“I thought he won a few rounds, more rounds than he should have done, than (the judges) should have given him.
“But it is what it is, it’s tough, he’s 15-0 and he can dig and he caught me a few times.
“I should have made easier work of it, but I got the win.”
