Belfast’s Anthony Cacace became a two-time titleholder, claiming a WBA junior lightweight title from Jazza Dickens on Saturday in an emotionally charged 3Arena in Dublin.
Cacace won by narrow scores of 115-113, 116-112 and 116-113 in a battle of veterans that was interesting without breaking out into a war.
Cacace appeared to be the much bigger of the two fighters, and both tried to start fast in the opener, feinting and foraging for opportunities.
Cacace had a little more success.
Dickens has been on the pro scene since 2011, although it seems even longer. He had been upgraded to full titleholder following his big upset win over Albert Batyrgaziev in Turkey last year when Lamont Roach Jnr relinquished his belt.
The Liverpool man Dickens has lost big fights to Guillermo Rigondeaux, Kid Galahad (twice) and Thomas Patrick Ward in a 36-6 (15 KOs) career, and although the southpaw is 34, he is three years Cacace's junior.
Like Dickens, Cacace had been enjoying a second summer with a career-best run that saw him defeat Leigh Wood, Josh Warrington and Joe Cordina in his past three fights.
Cacace, 25-1 (9 KOs), had to be patient, and Dickens was sharp and moving well through the third and fourth, but Cacace hurt Dickens early in the fifth, and then, for a while, Dickens' mission became about survival rather than victory. Swelling appeared around Dickens’ left eye, and at times he had to cover up and hold on.
Dickens crouched and tried to weave his way in behind hooks designed to change the trajectory of the fight, but Cacace had his important breakthrough and was now boxing with a swagger.
A Dickens left hand was the best punch of a quieter sixth round, but in the seventh Cacace was able to line Dickens up with several crisp right hands from the orthodox stance.
In the ninth, however, Cacace appeared to be hurt by a head clash, and rather than wait for the referee to assess anything, Dickens followed in and Cacace, cut on the forehead, was rattled while Dickens focused and carried on with the job at hand.
Dickens was encouraged by his success, and although Cacace stormed out for the 10th, he was made to miss a lot and was surely becoming frustrated.
Both had not just enjoyed their moments in the fight and had periods when they would have felt they were in control, but also neither was able to turn those spells into dominance.
In the end, Cacace had done what he needed to do and pointed out that “even with a bad night in the office,” he could still win a world title.
Tris Dixon covered his first amateur boxing fight in 1996. The former editor of Boxing News, he has written for a number of international publications and newspapers, including GQ and Men’s Health, and is a board member for the Ringside Charitable Trust and the Ring of Brotherhood. He has been a broadcaster for TNT Sports and hosts the popular “Boxing Life Stories” podcast. Dixon is a British Boxing Hall of Famer, an International Boxing Hall of Fame elector, a BWAA award winner, and is the author of five boxing books, including “Damage: The Untold Story of Brain Trauma in Boxing” (shortlisted for the William Hill Sportsbook of the Year), “Warrior: A Champion’s Search for His Identity” (shortlisted for the Sunday Times International Sportsbook of the Year) and “The Road to Nowhere: A Journey Through Boxing’s Wastelands.” You can reach him @trisdixon on X and Instagram.
