Pickering on the move as he cuts his ties with Brendan's Sheffield gym

Pickering, whose partner and baby live near Nottingham, cites family reasons for the switch to Carl Greaves’ Boxing Academy in Newark.

It is a blow to the Ingles, who were hugely instrumental in the super bantamweight’s rise through the ranks.

Today Pickering, who has a house in Shiregreen, said: “Brendan did a lot for me; he was a big part of my success. Dominic (his son) has come on as a trainer and I think a lot about them. I grew up with Ryan Rhodes, Johnny Nelson, Junior Witter and Naz, there.

“But Brendan always told me stability is important, and the drain on me training and travelling became too much.

“I am a lot happier now I’ve gone. I don’t know if there are any hard feelings on their side, but there aren’t on mine.”

Pickering says while the Ingles concentrated a lot on footwork, he was now spending more time on fitness and strength.

His hopes of meeting Commonwealth champion Isaac Ward have nosedived after the Darlington man declined a contest. Instead, Pickering may be defending his British title against Leicester’s Rendall Munroe or Londoner Marc Callaghan in November.

Today Dominic Ingle said: “We didn’t want Esham to leave; he’s been here a long time. But at 31 he is old enough to make up his own mind.”