Jack Catterall isn't looking past Jorge Linares, but he knows a victory over the Venezuelan is crucial to boost his career to greater heights.
The fighters will square off Saturday, live on DAZN (excluding Australia and New Zealand), to headline a packed card in Liverpool.
Caterrall is hoping that a victory over Linares will thrust him back into the world super lightweight title picture, but he isn't taking a win as a foregone conclusion.
"I put pressure on myself, he’s been a three-time world champion, I would never look past this fight or disrespect Jorge," Caterrall said at Thursday's pre-fight press conference. "I think he understands that the winner of this fight puts themselves in the picture for much bigger fights."
Caterrall is familiar with being in big fights, having lost to then-undisputed super lightweight champion Josh Taylor by split decision in February 2022. The controversial result was a setback for the 30-year-old, who won his next fight by unanimous decision against Darragh Foley in May 2023 to claim the WBA Intercontinental super lightweight title that is on the line Saturday.
With the winner potentially getting another world title shot in the near future, Catterall considers Saturday's bout another big fight to conquer.
“I set out in this sport to be world champion," he said. "We haven’t achieved that yet but I do believe I have the ability to do it.
"We’ve had conversations about a number of fights in the future but all of that means nothing without beating Jorge on Saturday.”