BIRMINGHAM, ENGLAND -- Hours removed from another upset win, Sam Eggington's face is akin to the "so, you wanna be a boxer?" memes that frequent social media showing gruesome injuries, arduous after-effects of gruelling training: getting paid for repeated blows to head and body.

His eyes can't open fully and while swelling will eventually subside, the sight of young son Layton with a newly-won WBC International Silver belt draped over his shoulder beside him provides comfort. Several fans wanting to discuss Lee Cutler (15-2, 7 KOs) leading with his head and as such, committing several fouls, less so.

Eggington (36-9, 20 KOs) can't change any of that, nor complete the final two rounds to stamp his authority on a fight he led on all three scorecards - Alexander Walter's rogue 90-83 card notwithstanding - hanging in the balance.

Referee Mark Bates couldn't ignore the ringside doctor's assessment, deeming the 31-year-old unfit to continue after a head clash forced a cut over his right eye and that only worsened, an unsatisfactory end in what many preemptively deemed the fight of the night.

Cutler's handlers will naturally seek a rematch and chance at redemption later this year, having marginally fallen short with the finishing line agonizingly in sight. What does the winner think of it all?

"I'm not the best judge. Never know either way whether I've won or lost, I'm usually shocked either way but this time, I felt I did win and quite comfortably," he told The Ring.

"Maybe [lost] two rounds where I was stupidly trying to be cute and clever up against the ropes, anyone who knows... that isn't me. Besides that, I was winning quite clearly to be honest."

With that previous paragraph in mind, Eggington finds himself in a privileged position and will no doubt be fielding offers from all over again. He insists there's no preferences, despite having just won a British junior-middleweight title eliminator against an in-form opponent.

"My whole career has been whatever opportunities have been offered, just take them when it comes, so why fix something that isn't broken? We'll mull everything over as a team and go from there."

Eggington accepts he'll have to take a week, probably more, off from training completely and allow his body adequate recovery time after another characteristically bruising battle. Cutler played into his traps, making this less taxing than his MD12 defeat by Abass Baraou for EBU European honours last March.

"Lee was quite physically strong, backing him up was hard but in-between them bits... my experience and ringcraft showed. People don't give me credit for boxing, he thought he'd just jab my head off and that's where it shocked him, we can have a fight all night - that's meat and drink to me - but he found out."

Someone who doesn't immerse himself in watching boxing besides his own film study, he notes that British champion Sam Gilley (18-1, 9 KOs) has an impending rematch with Louis Greene (17-4, 11 KOs) still awaiting a rescheduled date. They were set to headline Queensberry's York Hall show last October 18, before an undisclosed Greene injury saw Jack McGann step up on short-notice and suffer a third stoppage loss.

"I know this was an eliminator of some sort but I can't wait for them too, that's been around for ages... I've never planned a route, just take as and when it comes.

"I don't take notice of what people say and a lot of upcoming prospects should be the same, you can't all be Floyd Mayweather, win and lose some, I listen to my team - with me from the start, until the finish. It's a mentality. It's okay to lose, but how do you come back? I've done it countless times and am still here."