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Ekow Essuman prepares for world title clash with Jack Catterall: “This is my place”

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Ekow Essuman gearing up for world title run with Jack Catterall clash: “This is where I belong”

Ekow “The Engine” Essuman didn’t need a victory over Josh Taylor to prove he was world class.

In May, the Nottingham welterweight kept his composure in the heat of Glasgow, doing everything in his power to hand the Scot the third defeat of his career. Two months later, Taylor – the former undisputed super lightweight champion – announced he was retiring. A notable scalp in more ways than Essuman’s.

In her amateur days, Taylor qualified for the London Olympics in 2012 and won Commonwealth gold two years later. Essuman was a member of the British Podium boxing team and boxed for the British Lionhearts team – a grueling five-round format not for the dull of heart.

Taylor’s beating was not evidence, but confirmation of what Essuman already believed, as Boxing News explained.

“With my previous experience with Team GB and boxing in general and the work I have done with people at the highest world level, I know that I am a world champion. I just have to go out and show everyone that I am a world champion. I know all the skills that I have. I know how I exploit them. I belong to fight for world titles.

“Honestly, I knew to some extent that I was at the level to beat Josh Taylor before I beat him. But obviously beating him just reinforced that belief for me, as much as anyone else. And fighting on that show in front of a huge crowd.”

The ‘show’ takes place next Saturday (November 15) at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium – it’s going to be a large night, culminating in a hard-fought rematch between Chris Eubank Jr. and Conor Benn. On the card below, Essuman (22-1, 8 KO) meets Taylor’s fiercest rival, Jack “El Gato” Catterall (31-2, 13 KO), in one of the standout supporting fights.

So how did this happen?

“We found out about their offer and then there was a lot of media coverage about it. So I think the hype built up to the point where people thought the fight just had to happen.”

Essuman admits he’s disappointed that his career hasn’t taken off as quickly as he expected after Taylor’s win.

“I was definitely getting flowers. I think die-hard boxing fans really know what I’ve accomplished. Of course, people can say that Josh was at the end of his career anyway. He certainly didn’t look like that when he came out for the first few rounds of the fight. I did that to him – I took that away from him. So really, it’s just more than that. I was preparing for the next level. So come on.”

Essuman’s reign in the UK included solid domestic victories over Chris Jenkins, Danny Ball, Darren Tetley, Samuel Antwi and Chris Kongo. He was only beaten by “Scary” Harry Scarff. Against Catterall, he’ll face a fighter whose awkward southpaw style could prove just as hard.

Catterall has spent recent months in Philadelphia training under “Bozy” Ennis – father and coach of Jaron Ennis – alongside world-class talents such as Stephen Fulton and Andy Cruz. The switch could bring a more forward version of the Chorley model.

But Essuman knows what to expect.

“I shared the ring with Jack in the run-up to the Josh Taylor fight. The reason for that is because I wanted to really feel what Jack was good at, how awkward Jack was. So I knew how to be that awkward with Josh Taylor. I had a good feel for Jack’s awkwardness and what he’s really good at – things that annoy other people. I know what I’m dealing with.”

“If he decided to play more forward, it would work in my favor either way. It won’t matter. He might think I might be there ahead of him. But he’ll just find out about all the other quivers on my bow.”

Essuman is ranked No. 3 by the WBO and Catterall is ranked No. 8. It’s not a world title eliminator, but it carries that kind of weight. Failure would be a major setback – especially for 36-year-old Essuman, who cannot afford to rebuild at this stage.

After dismantling Taylor, the “Engine” is ready to run again. Catterall may need something special to stop him.

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Davies vs Collins & Heaney vs Warburton II Results: Full Fight Recap

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"Davies vs Collins & Heaney vs Warburton II Results: Full Fight Recap"

World Boxing News provides results and updates as Liam Davies faces Nathaniel Collins in the main event at bp pulse LIVE in Birmingham.

Davies and Collins collide over 12 rounds for the EBU European featherweight title at the top of the Queensberry Promotions card.

Luke McCormack faces Kay Prospere for the vacant British super lightweight title, while Bradley Goldsmith takes on Amir Abubaker for the IBF International middleweight title.

WBN provides results and updates from every bout as they happen.


Results

All times are local BST.

23:11

Gerome Warburton defeated Nathan Heaney for the second time running as the middleweight put an exclamation mark on his first victory.

Heaney walks away from the sport having been an entertainer through a long carer, without reaching the heights of a world title.

22:04

Liam Davies improved to 19-1 after Nathaniel Collins retired at the end of the seventh round due to a cut over his right eye. Collins had also been dropped in the opening round as Davies successfully defended the European featherweight title.

21:22

Bradley Goldsmith improved to 17-1 with a seventh-round stoppage of Amir Abubaker to retain his IBF International middleweight title. Abubaker went down in the fourth and three times in the seventh before the finish at 2:42.

20:10

Lewis Richardson improved to 3-0 with a shutout six-round points victory over Ivan Trofimovich, earning a 60-54 decision.

19:56

Luke McCormack moved to 6-0 and claimed the vacant British super lightweight title with a tenth-round knockout of Kay Prospere, who was counted out after a right uppercut at 1:28.

18:55

Michael Hussain moved to 5-0 with a four-round points victory over Nabil Ahmed, earning a 39-38 decision.

18:11

Nelson Birchall moved to 12-0 with a third-round stoppage of Lewis Morris, who went down before the finish came at 1:12. Lasha Guruli also remained unbeaten at 5-0 after edging Hughie Wilson 77-75 over eight rounds.

17:22

Early action saw John Tom Varey and Reese Lynch claim four-round victories to move to 3-0 and 5-0 respectively.


TV Coverage

DAZN provides full worldwide coverage.

Follow WBN’s live boxing coverage throughout the event.


About the Author

Phil Jay is the Editor-in-Chief of World Boxing News (WBN), a BWAA-acknowledged boxing news website founded in 2010. A veteran boxing reporter with 16 years of experience, he has interviewed world champions, broken international exclusives, and reported ringside from major events. His work is published worldwide through WBN and distributed on platforms including Apple News.

Read Phil Jay’s full bio and latest stories.

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Janibek Alimkhanuly Shifts Perspective on Hamzah Sheeraz: A New Dynamic in Boxing

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"Janibek Alimkhanuly Shifts Perspective on Hamzah Sheeraz: A New Dynamic in Boxing"

Janibek Alimkhanuly spent months trying to get Hamzah Sheeraz into the ring. Now that Sheeraz has vacated his WBO super middleweight title, Janibek is asking fans to stop saying the former champion ran from him. That is generous. It also leaves Janibek with less to say about a fight he wanted badly.

Janibek’s tone has changed since the purse bid. He was eager to fight, said money was not his priority, and publicly pushed Sheeraz to accept. Queensberry then bid $1,001,809 to stage the ordered defense, beating Top Rank’s $820,000 offer. Sheeraz’s 75 percent share would have been roughly $751,000. Days later, he gave up the belt.

That sequence deserves a closer look. Queensberry put a serious number on the fight, so the bid itself cannot be dismissed as proof that nobody valued it. But winning the right to promote a title defense means little to fans when the champion vacates before it happens.

Sheeraz has objected to Janibek receiving a mandatory shot after his failed drug test. He is entitled to explain that position. Fans are equally entitled to ask why the issue reached a purse bid before he surrendered the title. Janibek’s post supplies no answer.

Perhaps Janibek sees no benefit in branding Sheeraz a coward. Doing so would also make the opponent he chased sound less valuable. Calling Sheeraz a great fighter preserves the idea that this was an important contest, even after the belt and the fight slipped away.

The respect between them may be sincere. Janibek still gets no Sheeraz fight, and Sheeraz no longer has to defend his title against Janibek. A friendly photo does not change either result.

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Boxing 24/7 Wire

Boxing247.com is an independent boxing news publication covering the sport since 2001. It provides original reporting, fight analysis, schedules, results, and informed coverage of major fighters and events worldwide, backed by more than 25 years of professional boxing journalism.

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Virginia Confirms Decision to Erase Prichard Colón Loss from Records

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Virginia Confirms Decision to Erase Prichard Colón Loss from Records

Virginia has given World Boxing News its final answer on whether Prichard Colón’s last professional defeat can still be challenged, bringing an end to WBN’s long fight to have the result annulled and removed from his record.

WBN has pursued the possibility of changing the controversial disqualification defeat to Terrel Williams, with those efforts continuing following Colón’s death at age 33.

Virginia’s Department of Professional and Occupational Regulation previously explained that a decision can only be overturned if there is proven collusion, a scorecard error, or a regulatory violation that affected the result.

WBN pressed Eric Beidel, Communications & Digital Media Manager for the Department of Professional & Occupational Regulation, on whether any avenue remained to challenge the decision.

“And on that final question … as mentioned before, a decision can only be overturned if there is proven collusion, a scorecard error, or a regulatory violation that affected the results,” Beidel graciously responded after providing WBN with transparent answers throughout the investigation.

“In addition, a complaint about a regulatory violation must be filed within three years of the alleged violation.”

The Colón-Williams fight took place on October 17, 2015, meaning that deadline expired years ago.

Virginia Closes Appeal Route

Virginia’s response also addressed whether the result could instead be challenged through an appeal.

“The Administrative Process Act (APA) does create appeal rights to case decisions, but because DPOR never received a complaint in this instance, there was no case or decision that could be appealed under the APA.”

The deadline for filing a complaint about a regulatory violation has expired, while the absence of an original complaint means there is no case decision available to appeal under the APA.

For WBN, Virginia’s response ends a long fight to have the defeat annulled and removed from Colón’s professional record.

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WBN’s Fight for Prichard Colón

It is no secret that WBN and Prichard were close before the most tragic night of his career ended all contact and left us on the outside for the years leading up to his death.

That never stopped WBN from reporting on Prichard, campaigning for change and hoping lessons from what happened to him could help prevent another fighter and family from enduring the same tragedy.

Virginia’s final response may end WBN’s attempts to have the result changed, but it does not end our commitment to Prichard.

Prichard Colón will not be forgotten.

WBN will continue to keep his name alive whenever and wherever possible with the WBN Boxer Pageand push to ensure his fight for life and everything that happened in its aftermath are never allowed to simply disappear from boxing’s memory.

This investigation ends here, but Prichard’s story does not.


About the Author

Phil Jay is the Editor-in-Chief of World Boxing News (WBN), a BWAA-acknowledged boxing news website founded in 2010. A veteran boxing reporter with 16 years of experience, he has interviewed world champions, broken international exclusives, and reported ringside from major events. His work is published worldwide through WBN and distributed on platforms including Apple News.

Read Phil Jay’s full bio and latest stories.

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