UPBEAT Sam Eggington believes his blistering Prizefighter performance could be the perfect launch pad to stardom.

The 19-year-old welterweight, who made history as the youngest ever competitor in the one-night, eight fighters tournament, bowed out in the quarter-finals to eventual finalist Dale Evans at Wolverhampton Civic Hall last Saturday.

But that was only after a barnstorming three rounds in which the Stourbridge man and his Welsh opponent traded heavy blow for heavy blow.

Despite a points defeat, Eggington’s all-action style created a buzz on social media network Twitter, while he also received praise from several promoters.

It could all prove vital in building a following for the fighter, who was competing in only his fourth professional bout after turning over last year.

He said: “It’s all gone wild since the fight.

“On Saturday I had 20 followers on Twitter and now I’ve got 160 and rising. I went to Merry Hill on Sunday and people were pointing me out.

“Eddie Hearn and David Coldwell both said they would have me on their shows.

“I definitely feel it has done me more good than harm, even though I lost.”

The previously unbeaten former Warley amateur stated he had nothing to lose in the build-up and didn’t disappoint, fighting like it was his last day on earth.

Eggington’s aggressive approach almost cost him dear inside the opening minute as he was caught flush by a left-right-left combination, which saw him stumbling back and looking toward the ceiling.

However, somehow he stayed off the canvas and after gathering himself, began to find the target with shots of his own.

It was frenetic stuff as Eggington landed early in the second round and Evans then countered with both men happy to go toe-to-toe for long periods.

The pattern continued into the final stanza, though Evans seemed to be landing the more telling blows as he finished the stronger. All three ringside judges gave him the fight, with two scoring it 29-28 and the other handing him all three rounds.

Evans went on to beat Mark Thompson in the semi-finals, before narrowly losing out in a thrilling final to Glenn Foot.

Meanwhile, Eggington has already pencilled in his next fight in Birmingham on February 24.

He said: “I can’t wait to get back in the gym and start getting ready.

“He hit me hard early on but it was only when I watched it back I realised how much trouble I was in.

“But I dug in and came back into it. In the second round I felt I blew him away.

“I felt I caught him with some really good shots but having watched it back, his shots did seem cleaner and I can understand why the judges gave it to him.”