Lee Cutler believes a victory over British boxing stalwart Sam Eggington will secure his spot as the No.1 in the country.

The pair are set to meet over 10 rounds at the BP Pulse Arena, Birmingham on Sunday night as part of the card headlined by Ben Whittaker’s grudge rematch with Liam Cameron.

But although many of the eyeballs will be tuning in for that highly publicised main event, Cutler-Eggington looks like a style match-up capable of stealing the show.

And what’s more for Cutler is that he views the fight as the opportunity to finally stake his claim as the best in Britain.

It has been a long road for the Bournemouth man following a crushing first round stoppage to Brad Rea back in 2021 but he has since racked up eight straight wins since that night in a Covid bubble at Wembley Arena.

And since linking up with Josh Pritchard at the McGuigan’s Gym in east London nearly 18 months back, The 29-year-old has secured the two most notable victories of his career to date; beating Kingsley Egbunike for the English title in December 2023 before dropping the previously undefeated Stevie McKenna twice en route to a points win 12 months later.

“I had a quiet year last year but it ended well for me in December against McKenna,” Cutler told The Ring. “We’ve now got this one soon after so it looks like this will be my standout year and then we push on from there.

“Eggington is easily the biggest name in my career to date and I believe beating him will put me right up there. When I come through like I know I can it will put me right up there as the best super-welterweight in the country.

“Sam Eggington has been in there with the best of them and I am seen as a relatively new guy on the scene at the top level. But I believe if I beat Sam I’m the No.1 in the country.”

The British title is currently vacant, although a long-awaited rematch between Sam Gilley and Louis Greene had been pegged for the strap previously.

Cutler would love the chance to box for the Lonsdale belt at some point, but as previously reported by The Ring, his main goal remains a headline slot in his hometown of Bournemouth.

“That’s still what I want above all,” he said. “I know that can come once I’m the No.1. I want to take some special nights down to the south coast just like Chris Billam-Smith did.

“I beat Egbunike on the undercard of one of them at the Bournemouth International Centre and now I want to go one better by headlining it myself. I need to win here, push past this, and then press on.

“Before the McKenna fight people would look at my record and see that I’d been blown away by Brad Rea and nobody really expected anything of me, and that I’d always be at that English title level. I feel the shift in expectation now and I have to live up to it.”