Jack Catterall has started preparing for his fight with Ekow Essuman under his new trainer Derek “Bozy” Ennis.
The welterweight, 32, arrived in Philadelphia on September 25 ahead of the date of November 15 with his fellow Briton Essuman on the undercard of the rematch at London’s Tottenham Hotspur Stadium between Chris Eubank Jnr and Conor Benn.
Following his recent split from his long-term trainer Jamie Moore he, as BoxingScene first reported, recruited the in-demand Ennis to guide him into the fight with Essuman and beyond.
Essuman – the 36 year old who in his previous fight retired Catterall’s long-term rival Josh Taylor – represents the first test of their working relationship, but having left his two-week-old son behind in Chorley, England to commit to the gym in which he will train alongside and potentially spar Jaron “Boots” Ennis, Stephen Fulton and Andy Cruz, Catterall is already relishing the prospect of that test.
“I’m here now ‘till November 15th, ‘till the fight,” he told BoxingScene. “I took meself out of me comfort zone, into a new city on the other side on the pond – a place I came to earlier this year.
“I come out before the [in July, victorious Harlem] Eubank fight; come to get sparring; went a couple of gyms. It’s new; it’s exciting; I’ve got a spring in me step; in the gym with a lot of good fighters, and I feel a lot of pressure to perform and be the best I can.
“I train year round, so I’m never not in the gym. I’ve been taking care of meself at home; training; getting meself in a good position to get out here fit and ready to go.
“I’d been privileged to be in the gym earlier in the year, seeing the kind of work they was doing; who was in the gym and the stuff they was working on. More than anything, it was breaking the cycle of what I was doing and taking meself out of that comfort zone. You only have to look at the fighters in the gym; the performances ‘Boots’ is producing.
“After being in the gym I had a good feeling. [My adviser] Sam Jones made contact, and we decided we was gonna give it a shot. I’ve been here a couple of days now; I’m getting good work and I’m feeling good about things.”
