While many fighters want to be busy and stay active, after his exhausting battle with Mark Chamberlain, Jack Rafferty knew he needed a rest.
They boxed to a frenetic 12-round draw in Altrincham last August and Rafferty, who moved to 26-0-1 (17 KOs), has not fought since.
“We’re only human at the end of the day,” Rafferty told BoxingScene. “I gave my body that rest and that rest will be shown. [I] took a bit of time off, healed a couple of injuries. And I’ve had it hard since I had Henry Turner. Then I had Reece MacMillan and Cory O’Regan within eight weeks. Sometimes the fights aren’t hard, but the training camp’s even harder. So then going into Mark Chamberlain in August… and I got married in September and gave myself a little bit of time off. Healed up, ready to go for Saturday.”
It is likely that Rafferty will have to go the well again in Manchester, where he faces Ekow “The Engine” Essuman on the Fabio Wardley-Daniel Dubois bill at the Co-op Live Arena.
It will be physical, which certainly describes Rafferty’s fight with Portsmouth southpaw Chamberlain.
“That’s what you’re remembered for, right? You know, forget the titles, what you win, it’s, ‘Bloody hell, that was a good fight,’” Rafferty added.
“That’s what you remember. ‘I remember that fight.’ What a fight. It was a draw. He thought he won. I thought I won. Unfortunately, the rematch hasn’t happened. It is what it is. We’ve gone our different ways. But what a cracking fight. I’ve moved up to 147 now. So, it is a bit more off the cards. It was spoke about, but things fizzled out.”
Chamberlain will fight Irish star Pierce O’Leary in August, and Rafferty can see them fighting again in the future, even if they’re on different paths for now.
“I think there’s a bit of unfinished business there. I think it would be fan-friendly and it would be in high demand. We’ll get paid well for it and we could fight again, like I said, let’s settle the score.”
Of course, Essuman comes first and Rafferty feels he is in another bout that can’t miss for entertainment.
“What a fighter, Ekow Essuman,” Rafferty admitted. “What a card to be on. Another cracking fight off Frank Warren on a massive heavyweight WBO world title bill. Ekow Essuman, he’s done a lot in the sport, and I’m excited.”
Did he see Essuman’s gutsy stoppage loss to Jack Catterall earlier in the year?
“I did, yeah, I watched it. Listen, Jack’s fighting for a world title next,” said Rafferty. “He [Essuman]’s been [beaten at] fringe world title level, he [Catterall]’s fighting for a world title next, I don’t think that's no disgrace whatsoever. I know what Ekow’s about. Looks after himself. What a fighter. Done a lot in the sport, doing a lot in the sport. I’m ready.”
Rafferty knows what he is up against, someone who trades off being super-fit and dragging his opponents into the deeper waters of a fight.
But Rafferty has not been found wanting in the engine stakes himself and he’s clearly excited by the prospect of seeing who will win this survival of the fittest.
“I believe this will be the best Jack Rafferty come Saturday night,” he added. “What a fight to be in.”
Styles should gel for a good match, and Rafferty understands there could be momentum shifts.
“You don't have to win every minute of every round to win the fight,” he admitted. “I’m not saying that’s my plan, I am trying to, but things don’t go like that. Things don’t go absolutely perfect. And I think you develop that knowledge and ring IQ of a fight and that comes into play on fight night.”
That ring IQ has been learned during his reign as the British and Commonwealth 140lbs champion but Rafferty believes a big win on Saturday will stamp his name among the top fighters in the world at 147lbs.
He is a full-time pro who is living his dream and there is no turning back for him now.
“I think that’s what you’ve got to do when you get to this level,” he said of going full-time. “It’s all or nothing. I was saying before, get rich or die trying and you’ve got to cash in yourself and put everything into boxing and see where you get with it.”
Rafferty was working as an electrician before he became a full-time pro and he is not excited by the prospect of going back to work after boxing.
“No, that’s the scariest thing ever,” he said. “I think having to go back to work, I’m not condoning not going to work, but I don’t want to. I don’t want to have to go on that building site again. I don’t know what the figure is to not have to work again, but I’ll be working my hardest in the gym to try and find out what that is.”
Would he stay in boxing?
“It depends how much money I make,” he smiled. “If I’m sat on a multi-million-pound yacht, it might be a bit different, but I’d like to. I’d like to help the kids. Trainers at our gym get a massive kick from that, developing a kid, you know, a scruffy, snotty-nosed kid into an amateur champion. That must be a massive achievement for them. So I think it’d be nice to help our local area, Manchester, and hopefully make a good enough name for myself and help them kids.”
But, of course, there is the small matter of Essuman to negotiate first and the Nottingham man probably represents the best Rafferty has faced in his career thus far.
It is just as well, then, that Rafferty enjoys his work.
After Chamberlain, Rafferty got married but was soon back in the gym, ticking over and preparing for the next call.
“It’s my job, this is how I get paid,” he concluded.
“So it’s straight back into business. It’s not a job because I love doing what I do. And that’s why we’re back to business.”
