Exclusive: Sam Eggington Shuts Down Retirement Talk and Plans to Fight into His 60s

British, Commonwealth, European and World champion Sam 'The Savage' Eggington (35-9, 20 KOs) heads back to the ring on April 20th against Lee 'Chaos' Cutler (15-1, 7 KOs) on a BOXXER show in his home city of Birmingham.

Their WBC International Silver super-welterweight championship clash takes place on the undercard of Ben Whittaker vs Liam Cameron 2, and SportsBoom spoke exclusively to ‘The Savage’ ahead of his 21st title fight.

“We Ain’t Going Nowhere”

Having first turned professional in 2012, this is Eggington’s 13th year in the pro ranks. The Brummie boxer initially planned on becoming a journeyman, fighting on the road in the away corner, but was instead convinced by trainer Jon Pegg that he was too good to accept that role.

He lost two from his first 11 bouts, but both of those were in Prizefighter tournaments, which he took part in 2013 and 2014.

In his sixth contest, he became a Midlands Area welterweight champion, which would present him with his first pro title. Little did he know back then that he would go on to collect another 10 titles.

Now, after 44 fights and 274 rounds, Sam confirmed that he has no intentions of slowing down anytime soon.

“I enjoy my job; I enjoy what I do – apart from the dieting – I could do this until I’m 60. The hard work, the fighting… I enjoy what I do," he told SportsBoom.com. 

“That being said, if I start going downhill, I won’t demean my career and just box anyone; you know, the young up-and-coming boxers, just to lose and earn a bit of dough; I won’t do that."

“It all depends on how my body works. I feel fine at the moment, but if next year it dips badly and I feel like s—t and get beat by people I don’t feel I should be getting beat against, then I’ll be out."

“So, it all depends on my body, really. It won’t be my in my brain, thinking that I’m bored of this and don’t want it anymore, it’ll be my body telling me, ‘Listen, you’ve had enough’, and we’ll see when that is, but it’s not anytime soon.”

Sam won over the hearts of fight fans with his all-action style, never shying away from a war, but having taken a lot of hard knocks to head and body, collecting two Fight of the Year Awards, as well as losing nine times, has resulted in occasional criticism. 

After his 2020 loss to Ted Cheeseman, there were a lot of calls urging him to quit, but he has since won seven more fights from his last nine, becoming a WBC Silver and an IBO World champion, proving the naysayers wrong.

He addressed the critics, “It’s a hard one to get people’s minds around because people have a pre-conception of me, because I’ve been in boxing for so long, people think that I’m just here to make the numbers up and to bring the new boys through, but that’s not the case at all, and it’s hard to give judges, referees, papers, journalists… it’s hard to shake this conception of me to them, because I’ve been in it that long."

“And that’s what I’m trying to put across in every interview, every chance I get, that I’m not just here boxing because I need to earn some change, I’m boxing because I’m here to win.”

“Thank you, next”

From 2012 to 2020, Sam crammed in 34 bouts. Since reaching the heights of being the No.1 super-welterweight in Britain, he has since fought twice per year for the past five years.

First up in 2025 is Lee ‘Chaos’ Cutler – a once-beaten, Southern Area, English, and WBC International Silver super-welterweight champion.

His sole career defeat came early in his eighth bout, when he and fellow unbeaten prospect Bradley Rea decided to gamble their perfect records in a grudge match in 2021 at Wembley Arena. 

Manchester’s Rea came out swinging and was able to catch Cutler to knock him down three times in a first-round finish. Undeterred, Cutler rebounded back with eight straight wins, collecting a trio of titles.

Despite his opponent’s fine form, Eggington hasn’t paid any attention to him, “Never watched him,” he said abruptly. 

“So, I’m going off what I’m being told by coaches. I know he’s fit, he’s well-schooled, but it’s nothing I haven’t seen before. He might shock the life out of me, but I just don’t see it."

“Listen, nothing changes. I’m not gonna turn up like Mayweather or Muhammad Ali because this is me; everyone knows I turn up to go to war and that’ll be exactly what I do on the night. That’s what I get paid for!”

Without looking past Cutler on April 20th, he shared his loose plans for the rest of the year, “Given this one goes well, which I’m presuming it will, I’ll have to stay busy, hopefully another 10 or 12 rounds this year, for sure."

“I’ll stay as busy as I can, it’s the only thing that keeps me active. Other than this boxing training, I’m a recluse, I don’t leave the house!”

“Green Green Grass of Home”

Eggington has been brought in by BOXXER as an opponent for their rising prospect, who will defend his WBC International Silver strap.

29 from Bournemouth, Cutler may be the promotion’s home fighter, but it’ll be Eggington that’s the heavily supported local lad on the night, giving the away fighter all the added motivation and confidence he needs.

He described what difference it makes when fighting in front of a home crowd, “If you ask me now, I wanna say no, it’s not different. But, on the night, on the ringwalk, it’s massively different, but you don’t really get that until the night."

“I don’t feel different now, but, on the night, it will feel different that I’m in my hometown. If you dropped my out the sky, I’d know I was in Birmingham just by the crowd; I’d know I was in Birmingham and not anywhere else, so, on the night, it does help, but, in the run-up, it’s just another fight.”

And being in the opposite corner to the home fighter is something he has done on many occasions, “I don’t care what corner I’m in. I think I’ve proved through my career I’ll fight on anyone’s promotion from any corner, against anyone. Sometimes that’s worked out for me, sometimes it hasn’t. More times than most, it’s worked out.”

That statement can be corroborated by his trophy cabinet that’s packed full of belts, including the following titles (in chronological order): Midlands Area; WBC International Silver; Commonwealth; British; WBC International; European; IBO Continental; IBF International; WBC Silver; IBO World; WBA International.

“Simply the Best”

With so many accolades and career highlights to choose from, he revealed the one that stands out above the rest, “It’s a hard one really, but the big Birmingham fight between me and Frankie Gavin was a massive highlight because there was a lot of build-up to that, so that one was hard to beat.”

In October 2016, Eggington defeated local rival Frankie Gavin in the main event at the Utilita Arena in Birmingham. Frankie Gavin had been famous for many years already for becoming England’s first-ever world amateur champion in 2007, which had followed on from a Commonwealth Games gold medal in 2006.

Gavin had already won a British title outright and fought for a world title against Kell Brook when he locked horns with Eggington. 

“It was a local derby, there was a lot going on in the fight week with Frank, slagging each other off, and it was called ‘Bragging Rights’ for a reason, and no one thought I was going to win, no one apart from my team.”

Eggington used his aggression and engine to get to Gavin, stopping him just seconds before the end of the eighth round, and earning the Birmingham bragging rights in a night to remember.

“You’ve Gotta Roll with It”

The 31-year-old trains with Jon Pegg in his local Eastside Gym. Because of Sam’s lack of expectations when initially turning pro, the theme of just taking it as it comes has stuck forever since… and it seems to be working just fine.

“To be fair, I’ve never really had a goal, I’ve always taken opportunities as they’ve come,” he shrugged. 

“I’ve never planned a route or chose a bout or person to aim that, I’ve just kind of boxed at every opportunity and literally took everything I could."

“Because, at the start, I was never meant to do anything, it weren’t the plan to do anything, so as the opportunities have come, I’ve took them; and that’s the way my career’s been, if I’m honest. A bit of hard work and determination can make anything work, I think.”

“I’ve got the Key, I’ve got the Secret”

Still going strong after 13 years and 44 bouts, it’s clear that Sam has a recipe for success, and he was more than happy to share his trade secrets with SportsBoom.

“People actually know that I’m not a boxing fan. I’m not the one that will sit and wait for a big show to come up [on TV] or stay up late to watch an American show; I’m not that sort of person, it’s just that I don’t enjoy watching anyone else boxing, but I take my boxing serious."

“I do my weight-cuts correctly, I train like no one else does, I train hard, I do everything with my diet right, make sure I’m taking enough water, I listen to what I’m being told."

“I think if you take it serious and you’re serious about it, you know all these things have to be done. If you take it serious and you do everything right, work hard, and you’re sensible about it, I think anyone can have longevity and keep it going for a while."

“Since I’ve been in the top 10 in Britain in my career, I don’t think I’ve ever dropped out of it.”

Sam Eggington vs Lee Cutler takes place on Saturday, April 20th, at the BP Pulse Live in Birmingham, live on Sky Sports.