Jack Catterall’s new trainer Derek “Bozy” Ennis has dismissed Ekow Essuman as little more than a “puncher”.
Catterall on Saturday fights for the first time under Ennis’ guidance, at London’s Tottenham Hotspur Stadium on the undercard of the middleweight rematch between Chris Eubank Jnr and Conor Benn.
The welterweight has prepared under the in-demand Ennis in Philadelphia, having long previously worked out of Manchester, England under his former trainer Jamie Moore, and in the 36-year-old Essuman confronts the opponent who retired his long-term rival Josh Taylor.
Aged 32, Catterall recruited Ennis in his attempts to pursue the WBO title held by Brian Norman Jnr, and, not unlike with his Cuban lightweight Andy Cruz – who is scheduled to challenge the IBF champion Raymond Muratalla on January 24, partly through having become a more aggressive fighter – Ennis is predicting swift progress for his latest charge.
“You gon’ see,” he told BoxingScene. “Once we get this guy out the way, you gon’ see. Just like with Andy. ‘Every time you see Andy he ‘gon be better and better’, and look what happened.
“[Essuman is] just a puncher. No defence. All Jack gotta do is box him; lateral movement; inside; outside; a lot of feints. Jack should prevail with this fight.”
Norman Jnr, incidentally, is scheduled to defend his WBO title against Devin Haney in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, on the undercard of David Benavidez-Anthony Yarde on November 22.
