Sam Eggington faces the 45th fight of his career this weekend when he takes on Lee Cutler at Birmingham's BP Pulse LIVE, and he has one clear message for fans, the judges and the referee ahead of the Easter Sunday clash: "Don't count me out."

Eggington (35-9, 20 KOs) has been one of British boxing's great entertainers over the past decade, but with nine losses on his record, he understands why observers may judge his career to be on the downturn.

Numerous times the 31-year-old has been on the wrong end of close decisions and he feels, very strongly, that he should have more than the 35 victories on his CV.

So Brummie Eggington wants to make it crystal clear that he isn't done yet, voicing his serious concern that if his fight with Cutler (15-1, 7 KOs), whch takes place on the Ben Whittaker-Liam Cameron undercard, is a close one, he won't get the rub of the green.

"Oh mate, you wouldn't believe [how worried I am]," he tells The Ring.

"I keep saying to people, I just don't want people to have a perception of me where...I know I've been here a long time, but I don't want people to think that I'm here just to make some dough. Because I'm here to win.

"I'm doing all I can to make sure that happens. It's more the perception of the judges and the referee, you know, on the way into the ring, where they think 'oh, Sam's just bringing on the young bucks now, but it's not the case.

"Yeah, massively [concerned]. I'm trying to say this to anyone and everyone so people can take it in. I'm not even kidding. I'm going to be saying this at the press conference, at the weigh-in, because it's genuinely a fear of mine where they do just think 'oh, Sam loses by a point, it's not a big deal because he's just on the way out anyway'. Well, that's not the case.

"It's not my fault that I've had a long career and I've had loads of fights and I'm still here doing it. That's just the way it's rolled for me.

"I don't want to be stung for that. If anything, that should be a good thing. I think it's fair to say if there's ever been a close fight, I've never got the nod."

Eggington vs. Cutler has been sanctioned as a super-welterweight British title eliminator for the vacant Lonsdale belt, which is likely to be contested between Sam Gilley and Louis Greene later this year.

Cutler, 29, is in the form of his life since linking up with McGuigan's Gym's Josh Pritchard. The pair combined to upset the odds by dropping and out-pointing Stephen McKenna at the end of 2024.

Eggington, however, will more than make up for the experience McKenna lacked in that fight, and he's warned the Bournemouth man their boxing match could very quickly turn into a brawl.

"I think Stevie, the way Stevie boxes, the way he acts out, I think it shows that he's fresh to the game," Eggington adds. "And he's just a kid who loves it and wants to fight. If he brought out some of his amateur ability, I'm pretty sure he probably wouldn't have lost that fight.

"I think I've proved before that if I can box my way through a 12-rounder, I will. But nine times out of 10, it's turned into an all-out slugfest.

"I'll try and win by any means necessary. You know what I mean? If that turns into a brawl, then that's what will happen.

"From what I've heard, I don't watch boxing, I've never watched Cutler. I've heard that he's more than up for it. The way he boxes, he should really make it a good fight. But again, we'll have to wait and see what Cutler comes out with.

"Lee Cutler could come out and he could shock the life out of me, do something crazy and he could just be unbelievable. But I just don't see it."

Eggington hates fight week. "If you're not running around after tickets, you're trying to get the last pound off." But he's days away from getting to do what he loves, having not fought since November.

An opportunity to become a two-weight British titleholder awaits if Eggington is victorious on Sunday evening.

"I'd like to win it outright, pal, if I'm honest," he says.

"I think Cutler will stay tricky for the first half, but at some point it's going to turn into a barnstormer and I just think I'll take over.

"I don't know how many rounds it'll take for me to get there, but yeah, I think I'll win before the last bell."