FOR British super-welterweight contender Lee Cutler, the opportunity to headline a show in his hometown of Bournemouth, England, cannot come soon enough.
Featuring on the undercard of his good friend and stablemate Chris Billam-Smith in four of his last five outings, ‘Chaos’ has, along with the former world cruiserweight titlist, helped to revitalise the South Coast boxing scene.
Before the pair came along, the seaside town’s boxing aficionados were largely still clinging onto the memories of Freddie Mills, a Bournemouth-based light-heavyweight champion who retired back in 1950.
But now, with an undeniable sense of excitement injected into the area, Cutler, 15-1 (7 KOs), looks to establish himself as a main event attraction.
The 29-year-old comes off a career-best victory over Stephen McKenna, flooring his previously unbeaten opponent twice before edging a majority decision last December.
And yet, while their clash treated fans to a thrilling 10-round battle, the narrow scorecards did not truly reflect the polished nature of Cutler’s performance, with his feet constantly pivoting to negate McKenna’s pressure.
His next outing, though, promises to deliver an even tougher test against battle-hardened operator Sam Eggington.
Their appealing matchup will be staged at the Resorts World Arena, Birmingham, on April 20, appearing on the undercard of Ben Whittaker and Liam Cameron’s eagerly anticipated rematch.
Most of all, Eggington, 35-9 (20 KOs), is known for possessing a tremendous chin, seemingly loving nothing more than trading leather in an all-action shootout.
And so, based on the magnitude of his upcoming assignment, and indeed what could come after, Cutler knows that he must remain razor sharp.
“It’s the toughest fight of my career, but it’s also another step in the ladder towards where I want to be: headlining down in Bournemouth,” he told Boxing News.
“[A show in Bournemouth] was promised after my last fight, but when an opportunity to fight Sam Eggington comes up, you’ve got to take it.
“Obviously we’re going to be away from home, but that means nothing. My goal is to win, become a bigger name, and then bring another TV show to Bournemouth.
“It’s about staying 110 per cent focused at all times because, if I have that little fraction of non-concentration, [Eggington] will find that out and make it a hard night for me.”
Not only is he targeting a show in Bournemouth later this year, but Cutler also hopes to capture one of the two most coveted titles at 154lbs.
“Coming off [back-to-back] wins over Sam Eggington and Stevie McKenna would put me right up there as one of the top [super-welterweights] in this country,” he added.
“So yeah, we’d be looking at the British title, European title or whatever’s next. I’ll leave that to my team.”
While an announcement is yet to emerge, Sam Gilley and Louis Greene are expected to enter a rematch for the vacant Lonsdale Belt at some point this year.
Should their fight materialise, and also, should Cutler get past Eggington, then a showdown between the winners in Bournemouth would surely make perfect sense.
