James “Jazza” Dickens will have to wait a few more weeks to consummate his newfound title reign.
BoxingScene has learned that Hayato Tsutsumi is no longer to able to procced with his planned challenge for Dickens’ WBA 130lbs title. An injury sustained during a sparring session left Tsutsumi unable to continue training, much less fight on December 27.
The development has now left Liverpool’s Dickens, 36-5 (15 KOs), without an opponent as his fight has dropped from the Naoya Inoue-topped Ring card in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. The rest of the show will move forward in present form, including Reito Tsutsumi, 3-0 (2 KOs) – Hayato’s younger brother who will appear in a non-title fight.
News of the cut was in a shared scoop with veteran boxing reporter Carlos Linares, a longtime friend and ally of the BoxingScene family.
Dickens was upgraded to full WBA junior lightweight titlist on December 6, literally the moment the bell sounded for Lamont Roach Jnr’s clash with WBC interim 140lbs titlist Isaac “Pitbull” Cruz. Roach previously held the WBA 130lbs title since November 2023 but only made one defense – last June – and has fought two straight times above the divisional limit.
It ultimately worked in favor of Dickens, who claimed the WBA interim title in a stunning, 4th round upset knockout win over unbeaten Albert Batyrgaziev on July 2 in Istanbul, Turkey.
He was still a recognized secondary titleholder at the time his scheduled bout with Tsutsumi was confirmed for the Riyadh card. The stakes were raised with the title upgrade, though now a moot point as he awaits further instructions on his next bout.
Tsutsumi, 8-0 (5 KOs), was due to enter his first career title fight. He has already earned two knockout wins on the year and has stopped each of his last five opponents. Among that impressive run are wins over former secondary WBA titlist Rene Alvarado and Jaime Arboleda in back-to-back outings.
A 3rd round stoppage of Qais Ashfaq in August marked Tsutsumi’s Riyadh Season debut, joining Reito who has fought exclusively on Turki Alalshikh-funded cards since his pro debut in May. The elder Tsutsumi looked forward to his second straight fight in Saudi Arabia, though that will have to wait until he is fully healed and officially cleared for combat.
Despite no fight to show for his recent good fortunes, Dickens remains in the midst of a career revival. The 34-year-old southpaw has won four consecutive starts, including upset victories over Batyrgaziev and former title challenger Zelfa Barrett.
The WBA status lift afforded earlier this month saw Dickens claim his first major title nearly 15 years into his pro career.
The closest he previously came was in his August 2021 vacant IBF featherweight title clash with Kid Galahad, who prevailed via 11th round stoppage. The setback snapped an eight-fight win streak that saw Dickens defeat Leigh Wood (pre-WBA featherweight title run) and Ryan Walsh along the way.
