Rafferty vs Essuman Predictions: Manchester’s ‘Demolition Man’ moves up

Jack Rafferty meets Ekow Essuman as he makes his welterweight debut at the Co-op Live Arena in his hometown of Manchester. The fight provides a high-quality chief support to Fabio Wardley’s WBO heavyweight championship defence against Daniel Dubois. DAZN PPV and Ultimate are the places to watch the event unfold live. 

Read on for my Rafferty vs Essuman preview ahead of this exciting 10-round contest in Manchester.

Rafferty vs Essuman Odds

Rafferty is on the market at 4/11 for a career-best win. Danger man Essuman is priced at 12/5 while the draw is available at 12/1.

Rafferty vs Essuman Fight Preview

A big fight is often a catharsis for fighters. We talk about the pressure and the nerves but often, in the mind of the boxers themselves, it is where they want to be. The interviews, the sparring, the running, the nutrition and the waiting. That is the hard part. The ring is the reward.

Rafferty will likely feel that way, having been forced to kick his heels since a draw with Mark Chamberlain last August. The Manchester lad retained his British and Commonwealth super lightweight straps on that occasion and had been keen to secure the Lonsdale belt outright. 

But a lack of enticing domestic options and the 30-year-old’s body have necessitated a move up to 147lbs. This is no fact-finding mission and Essuman is no soft touch. Just ask Josh Taylor, once Britain’s first and only male undisputed champion of the four-belt era. ‘The Engine’ retired ‘The Tartan Tornado’ in his own Scotland backyard.

Essuman was world-ranked after that upset win, but Chorley skillsmith Jack Catterall stopped him brutally in 11 rounds at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium last year. There is no shame to coming out on the wrong end of things against ‘El Gato’. Essuman has proven his worth more than once. 

While the Taylor win tops his resume, Ekow has also held British and Commonwealth welterweight honours as well as the IBF and WBO versions of European honours. Only Catterall and Harry Scarff have beaten him. Essuman’s 22-2 ledger includes quality wins over Chris Kongo and the then-unbeaten pair of Owen Cooper and Ben Vaughan.

Rafferty will not want to join the latter pair in the ranks of formerly-unbeaten boxers ‘The Engine’ has ground down. Catterall was too hard to pin down and carried more power than Essuman is used to. Rafferty can take heart from the latter detail, given he himself is looking to convert super lightweight power to something more welter-appropriate.

The defensive elusiveness that Catterall trades in is not really Rafferty’s style, though. He loves a tear-up and will look to make this one uncomfortable for his durable opponent. But Essuman has the stamina his nickname suggests. He’ll stay with Jack, at least until the hometown boy can find the shots to make him think twice.

A lovely piece of work from Queensberry here. Essuman is coming off a loss but is hardly damaged goods. Rafferty is looking to open his account in a new division by targeting a dangerous foe rather than a gimme. Lots to like about this one. Add in the x-factor of a roaring Manchester crowd and we’re in for a fine aperitif before the heavyweights close the show.

Rafferty vs Essuman Full Card

Fabio Wardley vs Daniel Dubois

Jack Rafferty vs Ekow Essuman

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Liam Cameron vs Bradley Rea

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Mike Perez vs Franklin Arinze

Javokhir Ummataliev vs Damian Drabik

Fawas Aborode vs Garth Noot

Bobbi Flood vs Nathan Darby

Issiah Hamilton-Allen vs Connor Goulding

Bakhodir Jalolov vs Agron Smakici

Rafferty vs Essuman Prediction

Rafferty is five years younger than his 35-year-old foe and has less top-level miles on the clock. But Essuman was something of a late bloomer and we are only a year removed from his career-best win, the Taylor masterpiece last spring. Write ‘The Engine’ off at your peril.

I won’t be writing him off per se; I reckon Essuman puts on a show at the futuristic colosseum of the Co-op. But I do think Rafferty matches him. Jack is guilty of walking onto shots, particular when he hears the Northern roar. But Essuman is not a power puncher, stopping just eight of his 22 victims. I think that plays into Rafferty’s hands.

I’m backing ‘Demolition Man’ to overwhelm his man and pull away in the back-half of the fight to take a potentially-close decision win. Rafferty on points is priced at 17/10.

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