LONDON — For the last seven years, Jack Catterall’s training camps have all looked much the same.
In early 2018, shortly after winning the British junior welterweight title, the southpaw linked up with highly rated coaching duo Jamie Moore and Nigel Travis and been with them ever since.
It meant that Chorley native Catterall (31-2, 13 KOs) was never too far from his home and young family, in a set-up that had transformed him into one of the division’s best fighters. If it wasn’t for a controversial split decision defeat to Josh Taylor in February 2022, he would have had the undisputed 140-pound title to prove it.
But after his technical decision victory over Harlem Eubank in July, much to the surprise of many, Catterall decided he needed a change of scenery. Out went the north of England and in came Philadelphia and a new alliance with Derek ‘Bozy’ Ennis ahead of Catterall’s clash with Ekow Essuman at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium on Saturday night.
“I travelled over there, got an Air BnB, a car and I was all set,” says Catterall of his first camp in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.
“It was as simple as that, I was locked in, training twice a day. My apartment was half a mile from the gym which is out from the city centre so it was nice, it was quiet, it was peaceful.
“It’s nice being at home but this felt more like a camp. I’m privileged at home that my wife picks up the load and I’m left to my own devices but this time there were zero distractions. It was gym, eating correctly, resting correctly and just fully locking in.”
What the switch has also meant is that Catterall and Jaron Ennis, the son of Bozy, are now training side by side. The former welterweight champion, who is currently The Ring’s No. 7-rated junior middleweight, recently dispatched southpaw Uisma Lima inside a round of his 154-pound debut and called upon Catterall for sparring.
The Englishman, now 32, is no stranger to sharing the ring with the world’s best behind closed doors having sparred both Floyd Mayweather and Saul ‘Canelo’ Alvarez among many others over the years. But Boots, he says, is the best of the lot.
“Mayweather, Canelo, I’ve sparred some unbelievable fighters,” he says. “But I would say Boots is No. 1.
“Bear in mind that some of them I sparred 10 years ago but even now, Boots is sparring the best version of me and that’s my opinion.
“It’s just the size of him, the spitefulness, speed, the power. I do believe he’s the full package and I hope we get to see the fights that we want to see him in so he can show his full potential.
“Because I believe he’s pound-for-pound No. 1 material.”
Catterall had been called in to spar Mayweather as he prepared to face another southpaw, Manny Pacquiao, in what would become the richest fight in the sport’s history. Catterall saw first hand exactly what made Mayweather so special.
“With him it was the small things, the details and it’s the same with Jaron,” Catterall says.
“It’s the changing of the angles, front-foot counter-punching, making you miss but then giving something back, setting it up. Then the ferocity of the attack, accuracy of how he’s landing and with power, it’s unbelievable.”
Mayweather, the architect of 27 inside-distance wins, was an under-rated puncher, especially with his straight right hand, but does Boots hit harder?
“Without a doubt,” Catterall says. “100 per cent. I’ve felt it first hand.
“On top of that, his work ethic is unmatched. We watched him fight [Lima] on the Saturday night and by Tuesday he was back in the gym. The guy’s obsessed with boxing, which is brilliant to be around.”
The first test of Catterall’s new training set-up is on Saturday night against Essuman on the undercard of Chris Eubank’s rematch with Conor Benn, live on DAZN PPV.
It is Catterall’s first outing since his clash with Eubank’s cousin Harlem ended in a seventh round technical decision when both were cut by a clash of heads. Now, in only his second welterweight fight, Catterall believes victory against Essuman (22-1, 8 KOs) will catapult him towards world title contention.
“Victory on Saturday puts me one step closer,” he adds. “If I win in style here I am right back in the picture for a world title.
“The division is wide open with four champions and nobody unified, in my eyes it is there for the taking and I’ll continue down that path on Saturday night.”
Chris Eubank Jr. vs Conor Benn II will headline “The Ring: Unfinished Business” and stream live on DAZN PPV from 11.45am ET/4.45pm GMT.
