Jazza Dickens vs. Anthony Cacace | DAZN - 14 March 2026

[mickey1975]

Coppinger nominated Kinahan for manager of the year. I wouldn’t put any stock in his opinion

Deservedly at one point.

He was making things happen by paying higher purses and other fees to launder his money.

I'm aware of his activities.

[joshj909]

Deservedly at one point.

He was making things happen by paying higher purses and other fees to launder his money.

I'm aware of his activities.

Just saying he had an unfair advantage

[Ruthless-RKO]

[wrighty]

The card looks really good

[Sweet Dick Willie]

I'm actually surprised anyone thinks this is a fair fight, let alone Jazza would be able to win

[Ruthless-RKO]

Let’s see

[Ruthless-RKO]

Ryan Garner delighted to crack Ring rankings, wants to make history

Ryan Garner’s star continues to rise.

The 28-year-old junior lightweight from Southampton has collected a host of titles over the past two years. In July, he stopped the respected Reece Bellotti in a fight for the British, Commonwealth and European belts.
And earlier this year, he cracked The Ring’s top 10 at 130 pounds.

Garner (18-0, 9 KOs) has always had the natural talent to stand alongside the best junior lightweight fighters in the world, but seeing it written in black and white made his ascent more real.

“I didn't believe it when I saw it,” Garner told The Ring. “It was just out of pure luck. Someone put something on Instagram saying they were in the top 10, so I thought I’d have a look to see if I'm in the rankings, the top 20 or whatever. I went on there, and I’m number 10 with The Ring. Surreal. I was well chuffed. Literally, when I saw it, my face lit up.

“It just goes to show that all the hard work's paying off. Even though I ain't fought since July, I've been sticking at it, training hard and just waiting for my opportunity. Now, it looks like it's going to come around.”

Garner will box on the undercard of Jazza Dickens’ WBA junior lightweight title defense against Anthony Cacace on March 14. One of boxing’s open secrets is that Garner is being lined up to challenge the winner at Southampton’s St Mary’s Stadium this summer.

Garner knows that he is within touching distance of a life-changing opportunity, but he has walked too long a path to take his eye off the ball now.

He turned professional as a prodigiously talented 18-year-old and cruised through the early part of his career. He went off the boil in his early 20s, but remained unbeaten, and has been outstanding since deciding to rededicate himself to the sport.

He has improved with every step up in competition and has started to repay the faith his supporters always held in him. He has been driven by the determination to improve life for him and his young family, but he now sees the opportunity to create history.

“It's all going in the right direction. It's all looking good,” he said. "Hopefully, after this, I get a massive one and financially set my family up, but I want to win the world title. I could be the first man from Southampton to do it.
“I’m already the British, Commonwealth and European champion. I want to become a world champion and then go into bigger, better fights and earn more money as well.”

[SeanBrennan]

Hope Jazza wins and then has a winnable defence vs Garner (I don’t mean Garner isn’t good just that they always seem to lob Dickens in with really dangerous fights so I hope he gets an easier ride as he’s earned it)

[Taansend]

Gutted for Chamberlain.

[SeanBrennan]

Good opportunity for Maxi though, he’s had plenty of unfancied wins so I’d back him in this

[Ruthless-RKO]

To think he got his jaw broken by Rigo in Wales like 10 years ago.

He’s another Eggington ain’t he?

Just Eggy wasn’t gonna win a world title

[Ruthless-RKO]

MARK CHAMBERLAIN OUT, MAXI HUGHES IN VS. PIERCE O'LEARY ON MARCH 14

It has been confirmed Maxi Hughes will step into the breach on two weeks' notice, up a weight division to challenge Pierce O'Leary on the Jazza Dickens-Anthony Cacace undercard come March 14.

Hughes (29-8-2, 6 KOs) spoke of his frustration and eagerness to get back into the swing of things after narrowly losing a competitive WBA world lightweight title eliminator against Bakhodur Usmonov on December 12.

Usmonov (12-0, 5 KOs) came on strong to edge a 12-round majority decision in Dubai two weeks before Christmas, though the Yorkshire southpaw has found himself another opportunity to cause problems in the division above.

While not yet announced by Queensberry at the time of publication, it has been confirmed he will oppose former European junior welterweight champion Pierce O'Leary (18-0, 10 KOs) on the Jazza Dickens-Anthony Cacace undercard on March 14 in Dublin.

Portsmouth puncher Mark Chamberlain (17-1-1, 12 KOs) will not be ready in time after suffering an infection which hospitalized the 27-year-old, having originally spoken of his enthusiasm at spoiling the home hero's Irish party.

Queensberry chief allegedly told BS: "He [Chamberlain] is out, got a bad infection and was on an antibiotic drip in hospital. He's still recovering, so hopefully we can reschedule for in future, provided Pierce gets through Maxi Hughes. It's a great shame, sold-out show but we've still got a great main event and undercard."

In the area for a promotional event, Hughes had been sparring Irish featherweight Colm Murphy (16-0, 6 KOs) recently before his junior lightweight clash vs. Jono Carroll on the undercard. Now, they'll share the bill together.

[Taansend]

I love Maxi.

I hope he gets to have a brilliant retirement one his career is over.

In still upset over his robbery against Kambasas.

[Ruthless-RKO]

Queensberry Promotions ‘monitoring’ impact of Dubai attacks on ‘Jazza’ Dickens

Queensberry Promotions are not yet concerned about James “Jazza” Dickens reaching Dublin, Ireland for his scheduled title defense against Anthony Cacace on March 14.

Dickens, the WBA junior featherweight titleholder, is scheduled to make the first defense of his title against Cacace at 3Arena. Dickens trains and lives in Dubai, part of the United Arab Emirates, where there have been Iranian missile and drone attacks.

The attacks have caused huge closures to airspace in the Middle East airspace, leaving many stranded. The Irish junior lightweight Jono Carroll, who also lives there, is scheduled to fight Colm Murphy on the same promotion.

Dickens’ manager, Lee Eaton, also the head of boxing for Queensberry, regardless said: “We are monitoring the situation but not worried and look to get Jazza [Dickens] and Jono [Carroll] here next week.”

[Ruthless-RKO]

Jazza Dickens set to leave Dubai after missile strikes ahead of Dublin fight

Jazza Dickens is expected to fly to Dublin on Saturday ahead of next week’s Queensberry Promotions show at 3Arena.

The event on March 14 will be topped by Dickens’ maiden defense of his WBA junior lightweight title against Northern Ireland’s Anthony Cacace. Dickens won the interim version of the title back in July with a fourth-round finish of Albert Batyrgaziev in Istanbul, Turkey. Dickens was later promoted to full titleholder by the WBA following Lamont Roach Jnr’s decision to contest Isaac Cruz for the WBC 140lbs interim strap

Dickens has been training in Dubai, United Arab Emirates – where he also resides – for the first defense of his title. Dickens was in the final stages of his preparations for the March 14 date when tragedy struck the Middle East late last week. Iranian missile and drone strikes in Dubai meant that many residents attempted to flee the country. Matters were made worse when the strikes caused huge closures to airspaces in the UAE. Jono Carroll, who will take on Colm Murphy for the IBO 130lb belt on the same bill, also lives in Dubai and was in the same situation as Dickens. Earlier this week, Queensberry’s Lee Eaton told BS that the promoter was monitoring the situation but had no worries about Dickens and Carroll arriving in time for their scheduled bout.

The missile strikes have continued this week, but Eaton confirmed to Boxing Scene that the plan is for both Dickens and Carroll to fly to Ireland from nearby Oman on Saturday, March 7.

[Ruthless-RKO]

Fight Week!!

[Ruthless-RKO]

Jono Carroll reflects on 12-year journey back to Dublin

It was the autumn of 2014 when Jono Carroll received the phone call which would transform the trajectory of his career forever.
The only trouble was - he couldn’t answer it.

“I’ll be honest with you,” Carroll says. “I remember when I got the call for that fight I had smoked a lot of weed.
“So when that phone rang, I decided not to pick up.”

Carroll was 21 years old at the time and, after a clean and sober spell in Australia, he had found himself slipping back into his bad old ways on his return to Ireland that summer.

“I had only come back from Australia because my sister was getting married and she wanted me to be part of the wedding. The only problem was I spent my last money to fly home and then once I got back I was like ‘right, I’m stuck here now’.



“I had no idea what I was going to do, I met up with old friends and was back smoking weed after stopping all of that in Australia.

“I was catching up with the wrong people and my life just wasn’t in a very positive place. I didn’t have a job, I didn’t have anything.”



What he did have, however, was a 2-0 boxing record after kicking off his professional career out in Australia. He made his debut in December 2012 in Perth before his second fight 12 months later where he stopped a 0-12 Thai man called Saming Chopchai.



Which brings us back to that phonecall.


“So they needed an opponent for Deco Geraghty,” Carroll says. “He was 6-0 at the time and about to go into Prizefighter.


“They had put a lot of investment into him. They phoned me up to offer me the fight and although I didn't answer the first time, I eventually got round to speaking to them and agreeing it.

“I was just a little stoner at the time, winging it at life and falling back into the bad routines. But I had sparred Deco when I was younger and knew he was very good over three rounds because he was an amazing amateur. So I said I’d fight him over six, but then at the press conference they dragged it back down to four.

“But I thought I had nothing to lose, and who am I to say no to this fight?”

It would end up being perhaps the biggest turning point of his career, as Geraghty was disqualified a minute into the final round of their clash at Dublin’s 3Arena.


On Saturday, exactly 4,137 days later, Carroll will return to the city’s largest boxing venue for the first time since that victory over Geraghty.

“I was a nobody that night,” he says. “Now I’m a somebody.”

On beating Geraghty, it was Carroll put forward into the Prizefighter tournament just three weeks later. He beat Stephen Foster, Gary Buckland and Michael Devine all on the same night to win the trophy.

Carroll (25-3-1, 7 KOs), is 33 now and has not boxed since beating Alexander Prado in Dubai a year ago.

He had been in discussions to fight Anthony Cacace in Dublin late last year but the Belfast man will instead challenge Jazza Dickens for his WBA junior-lightweight title at the top of the bill this weekend.

Carroll, nearly 12 years on from that fight with Geraghty, will instead face undefeated ‘Posh Boy’ Colm Murphy (16-0, 6 KOs) in a 12-round bout, with the winner in line for a potential shot at whoever wins the main event.

It has been a long road from his first experience at the arena, where the long-retired Matt Macklin topped the bill on a card which also featured the likes of Anthony Crolla and Patrick Hyland.

“It’s crazy to think about how much has changed since then,” Carroll says. “It’s like a different lifetime.

“But if you focus your energy on positive things you can achieve amazing things yourself. To think of where my life was then, I didn’t know I was at all.

“I didn’t know what I was setting out to accomplish, I just kept taking things step by step. I lost my mum at 15 and that teaches you that you never know when it’s going to be your last day. After that I didn’t really fear anything, I had nothing to lose and I took everything in my stride."

"It’s almost like driving from Dublin to Belfast. It could be pitch black at night and you can’t see anything around you. But as long as you can see that 10 feet ahead of you with the headlights, you can just keep moving forward.


“I’m living proof that if you do that you can reach your destination eventually.”

[Ruthless-RKO]

Written off again, late sub Maxi Hughes aims to upset Pierce O’Leary

Before Maxi Hughes lost to William Zepeda, he had arrived in Las Vegas only to be sent home for having the incorrect documentation.

He had to return to England and go back to Las Vegas during fight week in March 2024.

When Hughes boxed Bakhodur Usmonov in Dubai last December, he lost a narrow decision after his coach, Sean O’Hagan, suffered a heart attack the morning of the fight.

Taking a bout in Ireland against Pierce O’Leary with barely a couple of weeks’ notice means there’s little time for anything to go wrong in the buildup for Hughes this time.

“I was saying in gym, it’s nice because you haven’t got six to eight weeks thinking about it and planning it and all that,” Hughes told Boxing Scene.

“It’s like, right, I’ve got a couple of training sessions and we’re good to go. I’ve been ticking over, and the week before I went over to Belfast and I had a week of sparring with Colm Murphy, who’s fighting Jono [Carroll] on the undercard. That were good preparation. I’d been sparring with lads in gym, technical stuff, working on stuff and keeping up me running. “I’ve always got that base.”

It is not the first time Hughes has taken late notice work, of course. He won the British title against Paul Hyland as a late replacement.

And Maxi, now 36, enjoys a fight in the blue corner. He is more than familiar with being written off. He is the name that is supposed to gauge the wares of the unbeaten O’Leary. Hughes has been drafted in as a replacement for Portsmouth’s Mark Chamberlain on the undercard of James “Jazza” Dickens vs. Anthony Cacace.

“That’s my life. That’s my career,” he admitted.

“I think for the little period I had with MTK and then Matchroom, I was in the home corner, but yeah, the blue corner, it’s got my name on it, usually. For this fight, certainly there’s no pressure. I’m stepping up in weight. I’ve never boxed at 10 stone [140lbs]. I’m in the away corner. I’m in the lion's den. It’s a sold-out show with Dubliners. So yeah, there’s no pressure on me; only the little bit of pressure I put on myself. I have put a little bit of pressure on myself from the disaster that happened in Dubai. I’m very much looking forward to putting that right.”

Hughes does not have fond memories of Dubai and losing to Usmonov, but he was up on points early on and the fight was close, despite losing his coach to a hospital bed the day of the fight.

With his makeshift corner, Hughes started well but then began to look one-dimensional.

He’s not even watched the fight back since but he feels he was too negative, and the situation with O’Hagan might have played on his mind.

Despite his own thoughts, Hughes has subsequently been told that he did OK and that the fight was closer than he had thought.

But his trainer having a heart attack on the day of the fight was not ideal.

“Hopefully he doesn’t do it again,” Hughes joked ahead of this weekend’s fight at the 3Arena in Dublin.

“In Dubai, the surgeon there did like the emergency procedure and he fitted four stents.

“He did say [to O’Hagan], ‘When you get back home, you will have to go to your doctor.’ He said, ‘Down the left-hand side, there might be one of your main arteries there that needs some attention.’ He’s gone in [to hospital] and NHS [National Health Service] has got him in pretty quick and yeah, he says he feels good now. He’s cut down on smoking, so that’s a positive as well. It’s given him a bit of a scare, so it’s worked out.”

O’Leary represents the 10th unbeaten fighter Hughes has faced in his career. He’s never had it easy, and he has plenty of respect for the latest up-and-comer, even though he’d never expected to face the Irishman.

“I’d seen his fights just from being a boxing fan and hearing his name,” Hughes said. “I’ve seen a couple of his fights, but he was never somebody on the radar, not really anybody was in the weight division above. I were fully focused and concentrated on [the] lightweight division because I thought that’s going to be where my career finishes. But with this kind of opportunity, I thought I’m taking it. We’ve had a little look at him. Sean’s been studying him and we’re confident in my abilities.

“That’s why we took the fight, because we believe we can go over there and upset the applecart. He’s got a very good left hook. That’s his money punch. I think he’s still with [trainer] Joe McNally. I respect Joe as a coach and what they do in that gym. They’re a good team. He’s answered all the right questions, and I will be his biggest fight. I understand that. I think, other than that, maybe Liam Dillon was his biggest fight for the European [title], but you know, Dillon being a super featherweight jumping up two divisions… We’ve seen enough of what we need to see.”

Maxi is 29-8-2 (6 KOs), and the Rossington southpaw veteran believes his experience will be the key in Dublin.

“I’d be daft not to, I’d be daft to go in there and fight his fight rather than fight my fight,” Hughes explained. “That’s what we’ve done in training. Just concentrate on myself, get what sparring we can, a wide variety of sparring partners for this little short camp that we’ve had and do what I do – concentrate on myself.”

And Hughes knows a win over O’Leary will put him right back in the mix, whether he wants to return to 135 or continue at 140. Scalping an 18-0 prospect will do that.

“[Promoter] Frank [Warren] wants the options over me,” said Hughes.

“That’ll be a good thing. Means a couple more fights this year. It’s not a bad thing for me.”

[Ruthless-RKO]

Maxi Hughes: "Whether O'Leary wanted it or not, he hasn't got a choice"

Maxi Hughes is determined to make the most of an unexpected opportunity, facing Pierce O’Leary at Dublin's 3Arena this weekend.

The hastily arranged 12-round junior welterweight fight will act as the chief support to Jazza Dickens' WBA junior lightweight title defence against Anthony Cacace.

When he was offered the chance to step in and replace the stricken Mark Chamberlain, Hughes didn’t need to drag himself off the couch and stand on the scales before giving an answer.

Although a few extra weeks' notice would have been ideal, Hughes is as ready as possible. Last month, he spent a full week in Belfast sparring Colm Murphy who boxes Jono Carroll on Saturday’s undercard.

He may not have had to force himself through a gruelling training camp but has had to make some sacrifices.

“I do live quite well, I don't binge, I don't really drink or eat a lot of crap. The only real major change I've had to make, which I don't like doing, is every night I like a treat,” Hughes (29-8-2, 6 KOs) told The Ring.

“I have Greek yoghurt, honey and fruit. Now that I'm making weight, I can only have 150 grams a day whereas normally I’ll have half a tub of it. That's the biggest change to my night-time routine I've had to make.”

The explosive O’Leary (18-0, 10 KOs) had spent months preparing for the tall, heavy-handed Chamberlain but has instead been handed the tricky task of pinning down the clever Hughes.

Hughes is a southpaw but - style-wise - that is where the similarities between he and the upright Chamberlain end.

Hughes is a clever sniper who can either frustrate or put his punches together in accurate sharp bursts. The 36-year-old Yorkshireman is effective on the inside, outside and is extremely experienced.

O’Leary grew up in the shadow of the 3Arena and his homecoming has become something of a local event.

Rather than protecting their ticket seller and importing an unknown opponent when Chamberlain withdrew, Queensberry decided that O’Leary is ready for a quality opponent and called Hughes.

Hughes isn’t quite sure why he was selected but he is delighted to have been given his chance.

“I'm not 100% sure on that sort of circumstance,” he said.

“I don't know if they've said, ‘We've got you a fight. This is what you're doing. It's a big show. You've sold a load of tickets so it's this opponent or nothing or we drop you down to a six-round keep busy fight’ which obviously, he's not going to do, is he? I'm sure he's going to be in boxing to have the big fights anyway.

“I don't really know him personally. I don't know what his mindset is around it but ultimately, the fight is happening, isn't it? So, whether he's wanted it or not, he hasn't got a choice.”

In December, Hughes travelled to Dubai for a WBA title eliminator against Russia's unbeaten Bakhodor Usmanov.

The trip turned into a disaster. Hughes' longtime trainer Sean O’Hagan suffered a heart attack hours before the fight and Hughes admits his mind drifted from the task at hand.

He was still competitive but lost a majority decision.

A few weeks ago, Hughes was considering travelling to Europe for a low-profile six round fight before looking for a return to championship action this summer.

Although he would have preferred more notice, fighting somebody like O’Leary on a major show offers him an unexpected but welcome shortcut.

Hughes knows that he faces a stiff task this weekend but he is mentally prepared for what lies ahead.

“The fact that he's strong and he can punch with the left hook, that's sort of what I needed because Usmanov in Dubai didn't really give me any fear whatsoever,” he said.

“I knew he couldn't hurt me and I feel like a little bit of that reflected in my performance whereas with Jovanni Straffon a couple of years ago, I knew he could really punch so it just kept me sharper. It gave me that edge thinking, ‘Keep switched on’ and that's what Pierce has got.

“It's those kind of edges which bring the best out of me.”

[Ruthless-RKO]

Jazza Dickens: 'I finally got the opportunities when nobody believed in me'

WHAT DO JERSEY Joe Walcott, Archie Moore and James 'Jazza' Dickens have in common?

All three showed remarkable resilience in their journeys from professional debut to winning a world title. It took Walcott (heavyweight) 21 years in 1951, Moore (light heavyweight) 17 years in 1952 and Dickens (junior lightweight) 14 years and 319 days.

Dickens added his name to the list of boxers who have won a first world title with the longest time from pro debut when he was elevated from WBA interim champion to full world champion in December after Lamont Roach was stripped of the world title belt.

Dickens (36-5, 15 KOs), 34, from Liverpool, will walk to the ring as world champion on Saturday for a first defence against Northern Ireland's Anthony Cacace (24-1, 9 KOs), 37, at the 3Arena in Dublin, Ireland. Dickens, who travelled from his training base in Dubai after the region was bombed, had been due to face Japan's Hayato Tsutsumi at the Mohammed Abdo Arena in Saudi Arabia in December, but it was cancelled after an injury to Tsutsumi.

While there are similarities to Cacace's late-blooming career (he stopped Joe Cordina to win the IBF junior lightweight title aged 35), Dickens' story is very different to the likes of superstar world champions such as Oleksandr Usyk, Naoya Inoue and Ryan Garcia.

Dickens has had to toil without the backing of a major promoter while dealing with knockout losses, inactivity and boxing politics. His career has been very different to the attention and riches enjoyed by the likes of his fellow English boxers Tyson Fury, Anthony Joshua and Conor Benn.

At times, Dickens wondered if his career would ever reach the same heights as it did in 2016, when he challenged Cuban Guillermo Rigondeaux for the WBA world junior featherweight title and was stopped at the end of Round 2 with a broken jaw.

BUT DICKENS TRANSFORMED his career in 2025. First came a 10-round points win over Zelfa Barrett, before Dickens knocked out Russia's Albert Batyrgaziev, a gold medallist at the 2021 Olympics, in Round 4 to win the WBA interim junior lightweight title in Turkey.

"There were times when I thought: 'What is all this about?' When it was really hard," Dickens told ESPN.

"I believe if you listen, God teaches you, but I did wonder: 'What are you trying to teach me?' at times. I'm glad I've been patient all these years because I finally got the opportunities when nobody believed in me. The opportunities have been the most important thing to happen, that's why I am here now as world champion.

"Those opportunities came when people thought I was done. When I got knocked out by [Hector Andres] Sosa [in July 2023], people thought I was finished. There were things going on behind the scenes before that fight, but I got knocked out and it didn't look good.

"People thought I was done after that fight and Batyrgaziev thought it was going to be an easy fight against me, but I went out there and dominated."

JUST LIKE RING legends Moore and Walcott, Dickens has shown unbreakable perseverance to achieve his goal.

Dickens, who has won four fights since his last defeat, has repeatedly rebuilt his career. After getting stopped by Kid Galahad in 2013, Dickens suffered back-to-back losses to Rigondeaux and Thomas Patrick Ward in 2016 and 2017. After another loss to Galahad in 2021 and the crushing Sosa defeat, Dickens began 2025 a long way adrift of world title contention.

"I joined up with my trainer Albert Aryrapetyan a year ago and it has been a pivotal part of my career, moving to Dubai to train," Dickens told ESPN.

"He was the only person who responded to me at the time when I needed a trainer. The phone wasn't ringing, nobody wanted to know, but since I have become champion it hasn't stopped ringing. We teamed up before the fight with Barrett and Albert came up for a good game plan for that fight and for the Batyrgaziev fight.

"Since those losses to Rigondeaux and Galahad, I've always been in the gym trying to get better, trying to develop, that's not changed. What has changed? Perhaps mentally I have grown, as you do in any sport or job with age."

Having navigated one of the longest journeys to a world title win in boxing history, Dickens now also manages boxers under the banner Integrity Boxing Management with Mitchell Walsh.

"We called it Integrity Boxing, because there's not a lot of integrity in boxing," Dickens told ESPN.

"We don't do it for a fee, it's my pleasure and my fee is seeing the smiles on the faces of the boxers and their families."

[handsofstone]

Both guys at their best are class acts but Cacace especially if he's firing then he can get to Dickens

[Ruthless-RKO]

Hayato Tsutsumi aims for May return, picks Dickens-Cacace winner

Ring ambassador Hayato Tsutsumi was tabbed to face Jazza Dickens for the WBA junior lightweight title as part of The Ring V: Night of the Samurai on December 27.

Unfortunately for the talented Japanese fighter, he suffered an orbital floor fracture in training, nixing the fight on 10 days' notice.

"This was going to be my first world title fight, so I was extremely motivated and prepared," Tsutsumi (8-0, 5 KOs) told The Ring through a translator. "That's why it was very frustrating and disappointing.

"For a few days, my mind went completely blank, and I felt very sorry for my trainer, family, my promoter and all the fans who support me."

The 26-year-old says his recovery is going well and he envisages his return to be in the coming months.

"I've already restarted training, and I expect to resume sparring this month," he said.

"I'd like to come back around May. Ideally, I would like to fight a champion, but if it's a comeback fight, I'm honestly fine with facing anyone."

In the meantime, Tsutsumi will have one eye on this weekend's WBA junior lightweight title fight when Dickens (36-5, 15 KOs) makes his first title defense against former IBF ruler Anthony Cacace (24-1, 9 KOs) in Dublin.

"Cacace is a former world champion and a very well-balanced fighter with few weaknesses," he said. "I think it will be a great fight, Dickens' experience and power clashing with Cacace's technique and ring IQ."

Tsutsumi can see a path to victory for both men to win, though is favoring one.

"I imagine Dickens will come forward while Cacace boxes on the outside," he reasoned. "If Dickens wins, it will probably be by knockout, but personally I predict Cacace will win by decision."

The plan then is to call out the victor.

"I'm confident that I can beat either fighter," he said. "I definitely want to challenge the winner of this fight."

[Ruthless-RKO]

Pierce O'Leary and the long road back home

Pierce O’Leary grew up in the shadow of Dublin's 3Arena. On Saturday night, the man known as 'Big Bang' finally gets the chance to perform in front of his own people.

Officially, O'Leary's 12-round junior welterweight fight with Maxi Hughes will act as the chief support to the WBA junior lightweight title clash between Jazza Dickens and Anthony Cacace.

Unofficially, the 26-year-old Irishman may well be the most popular man in the famous arena.

“I remember jumping over fences there at the 3Arena just to grab some pallets for a bonfire. It's literally a walk,” O’Leary (18-0, 10 KOs) told The Ring.

“I grew up around it, it's part of me. It's part of my heritage pretty much and fighting there just means so much to me at this moment of time.”

O’Leary was a star amateur and multi-time national champion but has never boxed in Dublin as a professional and his dedicated fanbase have had to follow his career on television, rather than in person.

The news that he was finally returning home galvanised support in the local area. Last Saturday, the former European champion organised a community 5k run to end camp and hundreds of fans showed their support.
O’Leary was 22 years old when he decided to leave Ireland and seek his fortune in England.

He hasn’t been able to rely on his large, passionate support to push him into position and has had to work hard and establish himself as a genuine contender through his efforts in the ring.

The struggles he has endured to reach this point make his return home even more special.

“My partner was pregnant and I left for London with one backpack and a thousand quid in my pocket,” he said. “I spent €70 getting from Gatwick airport to south London and was left with €930 that had to do me for the next seven or eight weeks over there in camp. I had no idea where I was going to be living. I got to the accommodation I was living in and it was a smelly, dirty, damp, wet pub where you wouldn't leave a cat.

“I was like what am I doing here? There was nothing in the room. I was sleeping on the floor. I used a few towels for a bit of comfort, went to Primark and got a few pillows and a duvet and had a small telly.

“That was me just leaving with a dream. There was many times I got sick over there because of how ruthless the place was but I kept going. I kept believing and there was times during COVID where I couldn't go home. There was a time when my missus had our baby and I had to go back to camp straight away. It’s been tough.”

After a successful run with Al Smith at the iBox gym in Bromley, O'Leary now trains with Joe McNally in Liverpool but the pair have spent the final few weeks of training at the same Dublin Dockyards Boxing Club he started fighting in as a seven-year-old boy.

Those final preparations had to be altered slightly when O’Leary’s original opponent Mark Chamberlain withdrew from the fight. The experienced Hughes (29-8-2, 6 KOs) isn’t the easiest opponent to adjust for on late notice but O’Leary believes that he has worked too hard to fall short at this stage.

“All them sacrifices, it’s all character building and it's who I am now,” he said.
“When somebody wants to go pro and they think of the lavish lifestyle, that’s the whole wrong conception. It’s hard work, dedication and - let’s be honest - it's just a myself and a dream.”

[Ruthless-RKO]

Jazza Dickens lived in his van in Dublin, now he headlines as world champion

Jazza Dickens used to live in his van outside the arena where he will defend his world championship this weekend.

The Brit has taken the long road to get to the top, turning professional in 2011 before he finally became world champion in 2025 when he was elevated from interim.

Now, he will prepare to defend his WBA junior lightweight belt for the first time against Anthony Cacace of Belfast on Saturday.

Dublin, where the fight will be held, is a city Dickens has a strong connection with, having been based there there for several years while living out of his van.

ESPN spoke with him ahead of the title showdown.

What are your memories of living in Dublin, and is it right you slept in your van outside the 3Arena at one point?

"I lived there for a few years," Dickens said. "I love that place, so it's exciting to go back to Dublin for the fight week.

"The whole time I was there in the van, three years I was there. I was back-and-forth, but it was three years [in total].

"Every night was rough, but every morning was beautiful because you got to go and see the people from Dublin, friends I've made for life."

You're now a world champion, but do you look back fondly on those times?

"Yeah, there was another time when I was out in the Fifth Street Gym [in Miami] with [Luis Perez] and Dino Spencer," Dickens said.

"I was staying in hostels at that time, so it's just the same really!

"I just love the grind of it. And sometimes when I've got a few quid, I just think to myself: 'I miss the good old days.'"

With everything you have been through, where does your positive attitude come from?

"A mixture of different things," Dickens said. "I think it's a very complex answer because it is all those things and more, but then there's a lot of childhood trauma I had.

"So it's just a mixture of everything. It's the best life that I would have chosen.

"I'm blessed every day just to get up and still live my dreams as a boxer."

The world title was such a long time coming, had you stopped and reflected at all on your journey?
"There's never been a reflection stage in my life because I love it so much," Dickens said.

"I'm still on that journey now, and I think it's important that I have love around me, a good team. I've had the same family and friends and [partner] since I started, since the start of my professional journey.

"I'm very blessed and lucky to have them. And to find out when you lose who loves you."

[Ruthless-RKO]

Anthony Cacace: I’m a win away from being one of Ireland’s best ever

When Anthony Cacace parted ways with his first world title, it was for the sake of bigger paydays. There’s good money in his upcoming bout for what would be Cacace’s second world title – but there’s another important incentive as well.

His legacy.

“I win this title and I will go down as one of Ireland’s greatest ever fighters, and that is what’s motivating me,” Cacace, a 37-year-old from Belfast, Northern Ireland, said Thursday at the final press conference for his March 14 challenge of WBA junior lightweight titleholder James “Jazza” Dickens. Their match will headline at 3Arena in Dublin and stream on DAZN.

Cacace, 24-1 (9 KOs), shocked Joe Cordina in May 2024 to win the IBF title at 130lbs. But he never made a single defense and ultimately vacated the belt at the start of 2025, wanting what he felt were more lucrative opportunities than taking on his mandatory challenger would provide.

Cacace’s rationale made sense given that he was 35 when he beat Cordina and needed to capitalize on whatever time he had left in the sport. Cacace outpointed Josh Warrington in September 2024 and stopped Leigh Wood last May.

“Two years ago I had absolutely nothing. Now I’ve won the IBO, the IBF, secured my family and done things I thought I couldn’t have,” said Cacace, who is now 24-1 (9 KOs). “Now I am focusing on legacy and becoming a two-time world champ. I’ve got a big heart and big balls, and I want this title so badly.”

Of course, Dickens, 36-5 (15 KOs), will want to hold on to his world title, a peak that also came later on in his career.

Dickens, a 34-year-old resident of Liverpool, England, turned pro in 2011 and was stopped in his first two title shots. In 2016, he was done with a broken jaw after two rounds with WBA 122lbs titleholder Guillermo Rigondeaux. In a 2021 rematch with Kid Galahad for the vacant IBF featherweight belt, Dickens was sent packing after the 11th.

But last July, Dickens scored a huge fourth-round stoppage of Albert Batyrgaziev to earn the secondary WBA interim belt at junior lightweight. When primary titleholder Lamont Roach Jnr vacated, Dickens received an upgrade.

“Full respect to Jazza. He has done it the hard way, the same as I have,” Cacace said. “I know Jazza has worked hard, got to this point, and he’s not going to want to let it go. So I know this has got all the makings of a great fight, a very fan-friendly fight. I am just buzzing about it.

“I want to cement my family name in boxing history. I am the first Irish super featherweight champion, so to be two-time and be up there with the likes of Carl Frampton and Katie Taylor, that is what this is all about now.”