Ekow Essuman was given oxygen and sent crashing through the ropes after being savagely halted by Jack Catterall. The pair were competing on the undercard of Chris Eubank Jr’s highly anticipated rematch with Conor Benn on Saturday evening. Essuman hit the deck during the fourth round at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium.
However, he fought valiantly to get back into contention until the ninth round. After slipping on the canvas, he was floored again as he got back to his feet. When the bout resumed, Catterall seized his moment, delivering a devastating flurry of punches on his defenceless rival.
Medical staff prepared a stretcher at ringside, though Essuman managed to get back up moments later, having received oxygen on the ring apron.
He had been looking to build on his victory over Josh Taylor from earlier this year, but instead Catterall delivered a stunning display to edge closer to a world championship opportunity.
“First and foremost, shout out to his team. Good people, and Essuman is a solid fighter,” said Catterall.
“We’ve been working on things, having the confidence to let the hands go. This was the second fight at welterweight. I can still punch but it’s having the confidence to keep throwing the hands.
“I want all of them, [Mario] Barrios, [Lewis] Crocker, [Brian] Norman, [Rolando] Romero, I want them all!”
Earlier in the undercard, Adam Azim triumphed over Kurt Scoby in the penultimate round following a dominant performance. Scoby, who stepped in at short notice to face rising star Azim, was outclassed throughout the match.
Azim is now set to head to New York in January to watch his rival Dalton Smith’s world title clash with Subriel Matias.
Also on the undercard, Ishmael Davis clinched the British and Commonwealth super-welterweight champion title with a narrow points victory over Sam Gilley. Meanwhile, Richard Riakporhe needed just two rounds to defeat Tommy Welch, continuing his impressive start to his heavyweight career.