Cooper vs Essuman Predictions: Cometh the hour, cometh the Essuman

World-ranked welterweight Owen Cooper puts his English and WBO European titles on the line against Ekow Essuman this Saturday, July 20. The title bout takes place on the Magnificent Seven card at Birmingham Resorts World Arena. TNT Sports 1 will broadcast the action.

Here are my Cooper vs Essuman predictions ahead of this welter belter.

Cooper is riding an unbeaten 10-fight career right to the very top. The 23-year-old is already ranked 10th by the WBO, by virtue of holding their version of the European championship. He picked up that title, along with the English crown, last time out. Cooper stopped fellow-unbeaten Eithan James in the ninth round, after dropping him in the opener.

It was a pivotal win in the young career of Cooper, who had previously reigned as Midlands Area champion. James represented a step-up in class after Cooper had cut his teeth on journeymen and young pros. Now he takes another big leap in quality of opposition.

Until his last fight, Essuman was the British, Commonwealth and IBF European kingpin. ‘The Engine’ entered a title defence with Harry Scarff with a 19-0 record and a seat in the world rankings. His ambitions unravelled over the course of 12 rounds, as Scarff seized the belts and that bright future from him.

It was an unexpected setback for Essuman, who had nine victories in title fights on his record. The 35-year-old had hoped to parlay domestic and European success into a chance at world level. Now he goes in as the B-side against an unbeaten prospect. The rock-face beginning to show as boxing prepares to push another well-regarded veteran into the role of fodder for its hungriest new stars.

Essuman doesn’t look ripe for that, despite the Scarff defeat. Even at the age of 35, this doesn’t feel like a swift half in the Last Chance Saloon. Essuman went toe-to-toe with Scarff in his last bout. It was a war rather than a coup. It feels like there is plenty left in the tank.

Essuman has always been a fighter willing to take a punch to land a punch. Cooper will have openings here. But he will also have a boxer in front of him showing more resistance and resilience than he is used to. The challenger is not one of the compliant journeymen Cooper was reared on. 

But Cooper looks the part. The 23-year-old is fully capable of dealing with better fighters. The win over James proved that. Cooper’s come-forward style should be an entertaining match-up for Essuman’s own warrior streak too. Look for this one to explode.

Cooper vs Essuman Fight Odds

This one is evenly-matched, with both Cooper and Essuman available at 10/11 to win. The draw, in what could be a very close fight indeed, entices at 14/1.

Cooper vs Essuman Full Card

Nathan Heaney vs. Brad Pauls for British middleweight title 

Ashley Lane vs. Andrew Cain for British bantamweight title 

Chantelle Cameron vs. Elhem Mekhaled; Super-lightweight 

Owen Cooper vs. Ekow Essuman; Welterweight 

Ezra Taylor vs. Carlos Lamela; Light-heavyweight 

Zach Parker vs. Jack Arnfield; Super-middleweight 

Sol Dacres vs. Michael Webster; Heavyweight 

Bradley Thompson vs. Stephen Jackson; Super-flyweight

Cooper vs Essuman Prediction

This fight really does sit on a knife-edge. Will the flourishing Cooper add the biggest name yet to his growing CV? Will Essuman prove that reports of his decline were premature? It is a toss-up.

I am leaning towards Essuman. It just feels too soon to steer him into the category of “opponent”. This man still has a lot to offer, at least at domestic and continental level. I feel that a world title shot may never come, but I think Essuman will win this one. If you agree you can follow me into this welterweight battle at 10/11.

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