London, UK (12 August 2021) Birmingham warrior Sam Eggington is ready to go to war with undefeated French ace Bilel Jkitou when they collide on Friday 10th September at the Coventry Skydome Arena, exclusively live in the UK and Ireland on free-to-air Channel 5.
The Savage puts his WBC Silver Middleweight title on the line for the first time and must repel the hard-hitting danger man to protect his position as World title contender as he closes in fast on a World title shot.
Eggington’s defence against Jkitou headlines an action packed card Hennessy All-Stars featuring some of the stars from the promoter’s stable including big-hitting Brixton star Isaac Chamberlain; Irish KO king Stevie McKenna; Birmingham’s Former British Light-Heavyweight Champion Shakan Pitters; Coventry’s dynamite-punching middleweight sensation River Wilson-Bent, Birmingham welterweight ace Kaisee Benjamin; Birmingham’s flash and brash Love Island and super-middleweight star Idris Virgo; red-hot Irish super-welterweight talent Brett McGinty; Brighton heavyweight destroyer Tommy Welch and the silky skilled Sevenoaks prospect Michael Hennessy Jr.
Tickets are available to purchase now from only £40* from the Coventry Skydome Arena website https://iceaccount.co.uk/championship-boxing
Egginton, the Former British, Commonwealth, European and International Champion, was last in action in May and returns to the Skydome Arena where he won the title with a punch perfect performance against the rugged Mexican former World Champion Carlos Molina to win widely on the scorecards by unanimous decision.
The 27-year-old has the advantage in big-fight experience from his 37 fights and 15 Championship contests to overcome the aggressive and highly confident Jkitou who is intent on pulling off a major shock in his first fight in England.
From Nanterre, Hauts-de-Seine, Jkitou is the former WBC Mediterranean Middleweight Champion and has amassed an unbeaten 15-fight record with 6 knockouts since turning professional in February 2015.
The 29-year-old is in fine recent form with back-to-back KO’s in his last three fights. Last time out in March this year he destroyed Gyorgy Mizsei in the second round in his hometown; prior to that in February last year he smashed Felice Moncelli in the opening round and Ernesto Olvera was despatched in eight rounds in October 2019.
Jkitou is well known in his homeland as he was previously a semi-professional player with Red Star, the oldest league football club in Paris, where he played as a striker.
All-action Eggington knows he has to be at the top of his game to see off Jkitou’s challenge and is prepared to dig deep and go beyond as he promises to retain his belt in style.
“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,” Said Eggington.
“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.”
Fiercely determined Jkitou believes he can knockout Eggington and will return to France a hero.
He said, “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,”
“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,”
“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.”
Hennessy, who recently signed a long-term promotional agreement with Eggington, is excited by the Eggington-Jkitou showdown and is predicting fireworks on the night.
He said, “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.”
Hennessy also added 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.
He continued, “I’m delighted to officially confirm our big fight dates for the last quarter of 2021 and we’re at the Coventry Skydome Arena on Saturday 13 November and the venue for final date on Saturday 11 December will be announced shortly. Our Champions and talented prospects will be out in action again as we close the year and get ready for a massive 2022.”
*Tickets subject to booking fee.
