Abass Baraou and Sam Eggington put on a spectacle for the Telford crowd as both fighters left everything in the ring, exhausting themselves round after round at a magnificent pace.
The pair showed incredible heart and desire throughout their European title fight which was met by much deserved appreciation from the roaring crowd.
Baraou outworked former British, Commonwealth and European welterweight champion Eggington, with the judges’ scorecards reading 117-111, 117-112 in favour of the German, the third judge scored it a 114-114 draw.
The win improved Baraou’s record to 15-1 (9 KOs), veteran Eggington moves to 34-9 (20 KOs).
An emotional Baraou reacted to the decision saying: “I had to face so many challenges, it’s been a long journey. I can’t believe I made it so far.
“I’m happy I could put a statement out there. I enjoyed having a good opponent who wanted a hard fight, it’s been great sharing the ring with him.”
The Fight
The opening two rounds were a feeling out process but as usual with a Sam Eggington fight, it didn’t take long before the contest caught fire.
The first considerable punch landed in the third after Baraou caught Eggington with a big right hand which knocked his mouthpiece out.
Eggington was noticeably shook but had extra time to recover when the referee stopped the action to enable his mouthpiece to be replaced, which helped the Brit.
After a big third round for Baraou, Eggington was looking to box more in the fourth and use his range to land shots. Baraou was still pressuring The Savage, using a lot of energy to put punches together.
Fan favourite Eggington’s name was being bellowed out around the venue after a closer fourth round came to an end.
Baraou started the fifth round intensely, cornering Eggington and landing a barrage of punches to the head and body. Eggington fired back with his own shots but was being beaten at his own game.
As the clapper sounded for the final ten seconds the pair slugged it out until the bell, bringing the crowd to their feet.
The sixth round was more subdued as they took a breather, both looking to land long jabs during a very close round.
Eggington had successful seventh and eighth rounds, getting tagged with eye catching shots early but imposing himself on Baraou as the rounds went on to do finish them strong.
Again, both men exchanged a multitude of punches as the clapper sounded during the rounds, both ignoring all defence in favour of an all-out slugfest until the bell sounded.
Going into the fight it was Eggington’s engine that was spoken about, however, heading into the ninth Baraou looked like he had plenty left in the tank, still deciding against using a stool in between rounds.
Both Fighters Giving Everything
The ninth was Baraou’s best round so far, he backed Eggington to the corner and landed an onslaught of chopping right hands that opened a nasty cut above the Brit’s left eye.
Eggington was in deep waters which made referee Giuseppe Quartarone take a closer look at the damage he was taking. He was able to cover up and survive to see the round out.
After a quite tenth, late in the round Baraou landed a sharp left hook which buckled Eggington again, this was met with a wry smile from veteran as the bell sounded.
The eleventh round was a thriller, both fighters met toe-toe and exchanged in the middle of the ring. Both looking tired, Eggington the more of the two, the pace was still explosive.
Baraou landed the better shots which again made the referee take a close look at Eggington and consider stepping in, but the Brit made it to the bell after an amazing round.
In the final round Eggington gave it his all, throwing anything he could at Baraou. The German again showed his impeccable engine, everything Eggington threw bounced off him.
During the final 30 seconds the pair brawled toe-to-toe until the final bell sounded as the crowd rightfully roared in appreciation of two worriers that had given everything.
After respectful embrace after the bell Baraou was jubilant as his hand was raised to confirm his status as the new European super-welterweight champion.
Afterwards Baraou said: “This was the road to the European championship, now we’re going to start the road to a world championship.”
Deservedly on the road to a title shot, it will be interesting to see what is next after recently signing a new deal with Wasserman Promotions.
What Next for Eggington?
As for Eggington, he will take time to and decide on what’s next having been in so many outstanding fights and provided such much entertainment.
“We will have to sit back and think now. This isn’t the first time I have thought about it, once you’re half-hearted or thinking about getting out, you really should.”
If it is to be retirement for Eggington, he can leave the sport with his head held high, knowing he has given everything.
Undercard
On the undercard Andrei Dascalu, 25, dominated Joe Jackson-Brown, stopping him in the first round to win the super middleweight Southern Area title.
Dascalu was far too strong for Jackson-Brown from the opening bell and referee Kevin Parker stopped the contest after 1:25 to extend his perfect unbeaten record to 10-0 (3 KOs)
Kazakhstan’s Sultan Zaurbek, 27, also improved on a perfect record as he took his record to 17-0 (12 KOs) beating Columbian Victor Julio, 29, by decision.
Julio was dropped to the canvas in the sixth round, in what was a shutout display for Zaurbek as he won every round of the eight-round contest.
Prospect Dan Toward, 22, put on a classy performance as he beat Frank Medsen, 34, to improve early career record to 3-0 (2 KOs).
Madsen retired on his stool after the fifth round after former Team GB amateur Toward had landed hurtful shots throughout the contest.