Ohara Davies made the first move towards winning a wager with iFL TV’s Kugan Cassius as he credited opponent Jack Catterall ahead of their October 6 showdown.

‘Two Tanks’ (18-1-KO14) has caused controversy in the past with his outspoken nature – particularly his slander of rivals – but made a bet with Cassius that he would do no such thing ahead of facing world-ranked Catterall (22-0-KO12).

Davies said: “As a person, I think Jack is OK. We actually had a chat once. I don’t remember exactly what was said but we exchanged a few words and I really think he’s OK as a person.

“The only thing is that he’s in my weight class so I put the fact he’s OK as a person to the side. I have to treat him as my enemy until the fight’s done and then there’ll be no hard feelings.

“I rate him really highly as a fighter. He hasn’t got where he’s got for no reason. He’s been British champion and he’s got a WBO ranking titile. Jack also has a great coach in Jamie Moore, who I look up to.

“All in all, Catterall deserves to be where he’s at in the game. It’s just I’m going to be the one to dethrone him in October.”

Davies and Catterall clash on an impressive bill at the Leicester Arena, where the pair’s MTK Global stable-mate Archie Sharp also challenges Leon Woodstock for the WBO European super-featherweight crown.