Injury has kept the former British and Commonwealth junior welterweight champion out of the ring since he and Mark Chamberlain battled to a 12-round draw in their fight of the year contender last August.

Rafferty was intent on winning a Lonsdale belt outright but has accepted that he can't afford to stay at domestic level any longer to progress his career. As well as leaving behind the domestic scene, Rafferty has also decide to say goodbye to the 140-pound division and reluctantly vacated his titles.

On May 9, Rafferty (26-0-1, 17 KOs) will step up to welterweight and fight former British champion Ekow Essuman (22-2, 8 KOs) at Manchester's Co-op Live Arena, as part of the undercard preceding Fabio Wardley's WBO heavyweight title defense against Daniel Dubois.

"I'm not saying that 140 is over, but I think this will be a stage and weight where I can show who the real Jack Rafferty is," he told The Ring.

"No offence to people at the British level, it wasn't going to be paying my mortgage off and this is a big opportunity - the show that it's going to be on, the name who it's against. As much as I wanted that British title at my house, you're remembered for massive fights. That's what I'm in and what I'll be remembered for."

Rafferty has made his name as a relentless pressure fighter but the seven pound jump from junior welterweight up to welterweight is one of boxing's biggest and the 30-year-old will now have to impose himself on bigger men.

The strong Rafferty believes that he will be even more effective at a higher weight and certainly isn’t dipping his toe into the water to test his theory against Essuman, who is known for his own physicality and workrate.

Last May, he outpointed Josh Taylor in the final fight of the former undisputed and Ring Magazine junior welterweight champion's career before giving the WBO's top-ranked welterweight contender Jack Catterall a solid workout before being stopped in the 11th round of their November 15 matchup.

He is, however, 36-years old and Rafferty believes that time is on his side.

"I think they've not seen the best of me yet. It's been a good version but I think that my best performances are yet to come and believe it will be on the 9th of May," he said.

"I think I've got youth on my side. Nothing against him but I think this is my time now. I think Ekow's done great things and he can still do great things but I just believe I'll be the right person on the night to do the job.

"He's got massive engine, a massive name and I think the same with myself. What a fight Ekow versus Catterall was. It'll be nice to see where I'm at against Ekow, stand me in good stead for what I want to do after this fight."