When Conah Walker was ironing out the details of his next fight, he had only two stipulations. One, it had to take place in the Midlands – ideally, Wolverhampton – and two, the bulk of the action would unfold in the middle of the ring.
He knew, after all, that any fight that happens close to home would be one he would be able to sell and in turn give the promoter what they want. He also knew that any fight that happens in the middle of the boxing ring would give the paying fans what they want. Better yet, any fight that breaks out in the middle of a boxing ring is one Conah Walker has every right to feel confident he will win.
It was mainly for that reason that he jumped at the chance to fight Sam Eggington this Saturday at Wolverhampton’s Civic Hall. In Eggington, you see, Walker had the lot – every box ticked. He had a fellow Midlander – Birmingham rather than Wolverhampton – and he had a man whose style is not dissimilar to his own. He had, therefore, a guarantee; a guarantee that both the event and the fight would be to his liking. He had, in a sense, his dream scenario.
“I had the pick of the litter really,” Walker, 17-3-1 (8 KOs), recalled. “It was a home show and I could have fought someone who I would have easily beaten, or I could have fought a top name. Ekow Essuman was the frontrunner for a while, but he chose to go a different route, which I don’t hold against him. Then Sam Eggington’s name came up. Obviously, I’d been asking for the fight for ages: a local derby, something we can put a bit of noise behind. He’s Birmingham; I’m Wolverhampton. I’m a local lad; he’s a local lad. Also, if you look at how we both fight, it sells itself. I believe it’s a fight for the fans. They’re the real winners here.”
Sure enough, Walker was right: the fight did sell itself. As Walker knew it would, it soon sold out, and now the only thing left to do is get in the ring and give the fans what they expect. That doesn’t mean Walker will be reckless, or let his emotions dictate, yet there is, all the same, a certain inevitability to what will happen when he and Eggington meet in the middle of a boxing ring. We know it, and so do they.
“We’ve never actually sparred,” said Walker. “We’ve been in and around the same gyms, we’ve sparred the same people, and we’ve always been civil. I’ve always got on with him. I came up watching him – I watched a lot of his fights. I’ve always respected him. I never really thought the fight would be available. He’s been around so long I thought he would have sailed off into the sunset by now. But look, it’s here now. He’s going to have trained like a beast because of what I’ve been doing – causing upsets, having good performances. He’s going to know what to expect, so I know he’ll be bringing it.”
In a 45-fight, 14-year professional career, Sam Eggington has always brought it, no question. Sometimes, the mere act of bringing it has been enough to outlast and overwhelm opponents, whereas on other occasions his desire to go punch for punch with an opponent has led to black eyes, a sore body, and defeat. Either way, Eggington has the reputation he has because he is the closest thing to a sure bet you can get in boxing these days. He is, in terms of his approach, a throwback to an age when television networks were forever on the lookout for a “TV fighter”; someone whose all-action style would appeal to those with only a basic grasp of what happens in the ring.
“I think that [style] works with the non-punchers and the boxers, but he can’t be that sort of tough guy with me,” said Walker, ever defiant. “Because once I start landing, I’ll change his face. There’s not going to be any pitter-patter stuff here. He’s going to be getting heavy artillery consistently for 12 rounds – if it goes 12 rounds. It could be a shootout, and the fans get what they want, or it could be a one-man show.
“He’s had a long, hard career,” added Walker. “I know how his body will be feeling at this point. I’m 50-odd fights into my own career, amateur and pro, and am fully aware of how the body feels. But I feel like I have a lot of juice still left in the tank. I’m fresh, in my prime. I think he’s just gone past his prime. He can still take shots and come back, but I feel I do everything a bit better than him, in my opinion.”
Since losing a close and exciting European title fight against Abass Baraou two years ago, Eggington, 36-9 (20 KOs), has beaten Alan Velazquez, a journeyman, over six rounds, and Lee Cutler, whom he stopped in nine to win the WBC silver super-welterweight title. The second of those results came as something of a surprise to some, with Cutler 15-1 at the time and deemed by far the fresher fighter. Yet still Eggington prevailed. Often the 32-year-old does.
As for Walker, 30, he has been the busier of the two in the past couple of years and has rebounded from defeat the same way. His defeat, which came against Lewis Crocker over 10 rounds, was not only close and controversial but acted as the trigger for Walker to then beat Lewis Ritson (UD 10), Harry Scarff (TKO 11), Liam Taylor (KO 7), and Pat McCormack (TKO 12) in consecutive bouts. That is some run for a man who lost an English title fight in 2022 and whose ceiling, many believed, had already been established.
Instead, as it turned out, Walker’s upset win over McCormack in December opened both eyes and doors. It’s why he now has the option of headlining a big event at home and why he has the luxury of choosing the perfect opponent to bring out the best in him.
“It's another style for me and another string to my bow,” he said. “If you look at my career, I’ve fought every style possible. But so has he. The thing is, I know the style he can’t deal with – or finds hard. I’ve watched every single one of his fights.
“If it takes off and it ends up being a ‘Fight of the Year’ contender, that’s my game. If he wants to get involved in a shootout with me, it’s only going to go one way. What will be, will be.
“The thing about preparing for a fight is that you never really know whether it’s going to be the easiest fight of your life or the hardest fight of your life. You’ve got all the noise on the outside, but that has nothing to do with how things pan out. The reason why I say ‘yes’ to every fight that is presented to me is because you just never know. I could be his kryptonite and he might not be able to deal with me. Or he could have a fantastic fight and give me some problems. We’ll find out. That’s the beauty of boxing, isn’t it?”
Though few would ever describe the styles of Conah Walker and Sam Eggington as particularly beautiful, there is without doubt a beautiful simplicity to them both. That is true of their styles and also the way they present themselves and speak. “I’m going to absolutely smash his fucking head in,” said Walker, when asked what he plans to do on Saturday. “I’m buzzing for this fight. It’s a homecoming, it’s what I’ve been asking for, so I can’t be going out there to pitter-patter around. I’m fit as a fiddle right now, I’m strong, and I’m going to be full of beans. I’m coming up a weight and I know he struggles to make this weight [super-welterweight]. We’ll see how he looks on the scales, but I’ll be cruising to the weight. I’ve been having good food during camp when normally I’d be cutting everything out to make weight. I can still make welterweight, but the reason I have moved up is because he is the chosen one.”
Be that as it may, Walker isn’t taking anything for granted. Whether in his prime, or just past it, he knows there is a reason why Sam Eggington has a reputation for sticking around when people either expect or hope to see the back of him.
“It's not going to be a walkover – he’s a good fighter,” said Walker. “But I believe I beat him in every department and will have an answer for everything he brings. It will be a Conah win. That’s all I want to say on that really. Oh, and it will be loud in there. It will be active. It will be hostile. It will be a horrible place for Sam, put it that way.”
