How Floyd Mayweather and Canelo Alvarez helped Jack Catterall find his way

Jack Catterall might be the lesser-known name as he prepares to fight Scotland’s undisputed world champion Josh Taylor on Saturday, but the challenger has some unique experience in his pocket: He’s shared the ring with Floyd Mayweather Jr. and Saul “Canelo” Alvarez.

Catterall sparred with two of the best boxers in recent history within a week of each other in 2015 and says the experience was invaluable.

The 28-year-old hopes to follow in the footsteps of his hero Ricky Hatton who won his first world title after beating Australian-Russian Kostya Tszyu — one of the world’s best pound-for-pound fighters — in one of boxing’s biggest upsets in 2005.

Catterall (26-0, 13 KOs), from Chorley, Lancashire, challenges Taylor (18-0, 13 KOs), 31, from Edinburgh, for the WBC, WBA, IBF and WBO world junior welterweight titles at The SSE Hydro in Glasgow, in what is a rare chance to become an undisputed world champion.

Despite no previous world title attempts or top-level wins on his record, Catterall does have the enviable experience of working with American Mayweather, pound-for-pound king at the time, before his megafight with Manny Pacquiao. Catterall, a southpaw, was brought in to mimic the style of Pacquiao in sparring sessions at Mayweather’s gym in Las Vegas.

“It was massive for me when I sparred Mayweather,” Catterall told ESPN. “I turned pro at 19 without the amateur experience of fighting in different countries so I had to learn from sparring champions like Amir Khan, Kell Brook, Floyd, Canelo and others. I must have been in my 20s when I stepped into the gym in Vegas to spar Floyd and it was hard because there were hundreds of people there, all with their phones out and making a lot of noise.

“But I kept being invited back and I soaked up every bit of…