Frankie Gavin has to beat Sam Eggington to keep his career alive, says Matthew Macklin.
The Birmingham star takes on his local rival at the Barclaycard Arena, on Saturday night, live on Sky Sports 2.
The vacant WBC International welterweight title and local bragging rights are up for grabs, but Macklin fears that losing a fight with added pressure could end his professional career.
"For Frankie Gavin, at this stage of his career and this stage of his life, this is an absolute must-win fight," said the former fighter from the West Midlands.
"From a career perspective, I think Sam could stand the loss much better than Frankie could.
"If Sam lost in a good fight, it would not be the end of the world and he could regroup and come again, but if Frankie loses to Sam Eggington, I don't see where he goes next."
Gavin was the first British fighter to be crowned World Amateur champion before turning professional but has had only one world-title attempt, the sixth-round stoppage at the hands of IBF welterweight holder Kell Brook last May.
Macklin is not sure he will be able to work his way back up to the elite level even if he does beat Eggington, but believes Birmingham boxing still needs him.
"Down the years, we haven't really had strength in depth like Liverpool, Manchester or London, for example, but we have had some outstanding individuals," said Macklin.
"We've had Robert McCracken, myself, several others but after winning the World Amatuer Championships, Frankie really stood out for his age group. He is still the one people talk about.
"We do have fighters like the Yafai brothers and they need to keep winning but we need Frankie back up on the pedestal. It is important that Frankie and the rest of them keep winning."
Macklin, who lost three world title attempts at the hands of Gennady Golovkin, Sergio Martinez and Felix Sturm, will be working for Sky Sports at ringside in what he expects to be a divided crowd.
Gavin has been Birmingham's number one fighter for a while but while Eggington might come from Stourbridge, he trains in the city with Jon Pegg
The two fighters have swapped words in the build-up with Gavin suggesting his foe doesn't have a "very good boxing IQ" while 'The Savage' says he will punch his opponent "from pillar to post" to get the win.
"Eggington might live on the outskirts and Gavin right in the middle of the city, but his is still a proper local scrap," said Macklin.
"Don't forget Sam trains right in the middle, right next to the football ground, so is right in the heart of the city
"That means there is going to be some needle around the town for this one, which means there is plenty of pride at stake - and rightly so.
"They've titled it Bragging Rights and they've not done that by mistake."
Watch Sam Eggington v Frankie Gavin live on Sky Sports 2, from 8pm on Saturday.