International incident ahead for Sam Eggington

Eggington can't get the British welterweight title shot he craves until champion Frankie Gavin makes his mind up on the belt's fate, writes Craig Birch.

Gethin won and lost Britain's lightweight crown and was then well-beaten in a drained second chance, so moved up a division to light welter.

But both could put themselves right back in the picture when the Sky Sports cameras arrive at the Hull Ice Arena on Saturday March 7.

The Matchroom Boxing bill features young Eggington's 10-round title tilt at unbeaten WBC International champion Shayne Singleton.

Gethin, 31, has gone from 'the Quiet Man' to the forgotten man in a matter of months, but would make a huge noise if he can beat Tommy Coyle.

He took the 'International' route on the way to the Lonsdale belt, picking up an IBF world ranking with defeat of Carl Johanneson in 2012.

That's now the path to glory that Eggington, 20, is looking to emulate and he's seen from nothing from Singleton he thinks will stand in his way.

True, he's only seen 'the Pain' box once against his mate Curtis Woodhouse, who lost on points for the English title in a hotly-contested decision.

Eggington said: "I was at ringside that night and it didn't give me a great opinion of Singleton at all. He was good at running away!

"I thought he lost the fight, everyone did bar the referee. Curtis took him to bits, jabbed his head off, and his face was all bust up afterwards.

"He's not tough to catch, he just backpedals a lot so you have to hunt him down. He won't have to look very hard to find me in there.

"People might say he's won 20 fights so he's the favourite and that's fine by me. I think I am his step up, not the other way around.

"Curtis got hold of me the other day and asked me to do a job for him, which is what I plan to do and I want to take that green belt from him.

"I heard Singleton jumped to No 31 with the WBC when he won the title so, hopefully, I can go out there and do the same."

Eggington could afford to sit back and see what happened after a breakthrough stoppage of former Commonwealth champion Denton Vassell.

Their belting contest reached a pulsating conclusion in the eighth round all live on Sky Sports, putting 'the Savage' on the map as one to watch.

Gavin then outpointed Bradley Skeete to retain both the British and Commonwealth belts, rebounding from his first defeat for the European crown.

The Brummie titlist believes his next step is back towards EBU honours, which Eggington argues should make him turn in his titles.

He said: "All I ever hear is Frankie telling people he's above British level and that he has no reason to be taking fights against the likes of me.

"If that's the case, why won't he vacate? He's won a Lonsdale belt outright and that's when I think champions should be stripped of the title.

"If you are a British champion, you are going to have to face British challengers. His future is up in the air and it puts me in the same position.

"Unless I am made the mandatory challenger, there's nothing I can do. It's not an easy situation for me to be in."

Gethin has been brought in as a tune-up for Coyle, who is anticipating a summer blockbuster against Olympic gold medalist Luke Campbell.

You can bet 'the Quiet Man' has something to say about that, with the roles reversed from when Coyle was handed a shot at his British belt.

Gethin picked Coyle as his voluntary defence but the fight never materialised, although it did indicate that the-then champion wasn't scared.

Gethin said: "That was the case then and that is the case now. I think a lot of people have written me off, but there's plenty of boxing left in me yet.

"I know I am being brought in as an opponent, so does Gary Sykes after being brought in for Luke Campbell in his hometown on the same show.

"I guess it's down to us to show we are worth more than that."