IRELAND’S ANTHONY CACACE is a two-time super-featherweight champion of the world after securing a narrow unanimous decision over champion Jazza Dickens in an extremely closely contested bout at the sold-out 3Arena, Dublin.
After 12 rounds of what amounted to fistic chess, all three judges awarded the contest to the challenger from Belfast, who won the WBA 130-pound title on scores of 115-113, 116-112, and 116-113.
The 37-year-old Cacace, who previously held the IBF title before vacating it to avoid mandatory challenges and instead take on more lucrative bouts against higher-profile British opponents, improved to 25-1 (9KOs) as he was crowned for the second time.
Dickens, who will likely feel aggrieved at the decision, dropped to 36-6 (15KOs) after a bout in which virtually every round was difficult to score.
In the chief-support bout, meanwhile, Sheriff Street native Pierce O’Leary earned a career-best stoppage victory over South Yorkshireman Maxi Hughes to improve to 19-0 (11KOs) and pick up a secondary world title.
O’Leary, who sold the bulk of the 8,500 tickets for what is effectively his local hall, rocked Hughes en route to fifth-round retirement and shook the venue with a near-perfect performance. The 26-year-old announced himself as a potential world-level talent and will almost certainly headline at The Point in the near future.
The energy generated by O’Leary’s TKO6 victory continued into the main event ring-walks, with challenger Cacace walking first to Zombie by The Cranberries and Dickens — who has many friends and boxing contacts in Dublin — emerging on stage to a hearty mix of boos and cheers.
But in truth, the headline fight sapped much of the atmosphere from the arena as Cacace and Dickens played out something resembling a stalemate.
In the end, however, the Belfast and rest-of-Irish massive were on their feet celebrating wildly, mirroring their boxer and his team, as the words ‘and new’ reverberated around the amphitheatre.
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Round one was a range-finder, with Cacace stabbing Dickens to the body with his straight right hand and controlling the tempo behind his jab. Dickens landed a couple of probing right hands of his own to Cacace’s body early in the round, but it was a clear opening 10-9 for the home fighter.
Dickens became more assertive in a closer but still-tentative second. Each boxer found moderate success upstairs, but this was coin-flip round in which neither man truly made inroads.
The cagey start continued into the third, with Cacace briefly switching to southpaw in an effort to unlock Dickens’ defence. He was disabused of that notion by a tidy Dickens flurry to either side of his jaw, but continued to pivot between stances as the round progressed. Dickens had almost nicked it when he planted a straight left on Cacace’s chin with 20 seconds remaining in the round, but Cacace responded with the most stinging shot of the round — and, indeed, the fight to that point — as he zipped Dickens in the mouth with an overhand right. Dickens may still have been within his rights to lay claim to the round, but it was another squeaker.
The previously effervescent crowd had long since quietened by the fourth, another three minutes of chess, with Dickens landing the volume — if one could describe it as such — and Cacace again touching him to the head with a couple of moments of quality. A tough night for the judges through four.
Cacace, however, brought the crowd to its feet a minute later, exploding into action to start the fifth. A beautiful barrage put Dickens under pressure, with the Belfast man smiling and snarling as he began to unload on his briefly stationary opponent. Dickens weathered the storm without taking massive damage, even flicking out a couple of right hands in response, but Cacace breezed the round. His tail was up as he strutted back to the corner, while Dickens prepared for an earful on the opposite side of the ring.
Cacace continued to lead the dance in a more tepid sixth, albeit he swallowed a couple of neatly delivered left hands from Dickens as the Liverpudlian successfully slowed the home fighter’s advances.
The bout felt close at the turn, perhaps with only a round in it either way.
The seventh was a tight affair again, with champion and challenger picking their moments to raid with only singular shots, few of which landed cleanly. Cacace may have nicked it with some astute pressure in the final minute, but Dickens also found the mark with a tidy one-two upstairs seconds before the bell.
Dickens’ left hand was becoming a menace for Cacace, albeit the Englishman was still using it sparingly. It was likely enough to edge the eighth, with Cacace attempting to box off the front foot but walking into a couple of Dickens left hooks while landing little of note himself.
There was a swagger to Dickens’ movement heading into Round 9, the visitor visibly growing in confidence. He unbalanced Cacace with a couple of combinations, the Belfast man unhurt but smiling back at him to acknowledge his period of success. Dickens upped the ante, landing some of the best shots of the fight as Cacace appeared troubled, and perhaps borderline hurt, for the first time in his career. The away support was on its feet. Dickens had seized control heading into the 10th.
Cacace needed a response — and he conjured some swagger of his own in the following round. Using his head movement to take Dickens’ left hand out of the equation, the Andersonstown native landed the better, more consistent work.
Into the championship rounds, then, and it was all to play for.
But again, there was little to split them in a tense 11th, and there was little else to say about it.
The home crowd roared back to life to start the final round, which appeared to stir both boxers: first Dickens, who found the mark with a combination upstairs, and then Cacace who returned serve. It was a case of pick your poison once more, with Dickens arguably landing the more consistently effective work.
It was Cacace, however, who earned the nod from all three judges, sending Dickens home heartbroken and taking the WBA title up the M1 to Andersonstown.
Brian Peters, Katie Taylor and Pierce O'Leary celebrate post-fight. Gary Carr / INPHO
Gary Carr / INPHO / INPHO
A fight earlier, local hero Pierce O’Leary, who is believed to have sold over 5,000 tickets for tonight’s event, passed every test, dominating from start to finish before Maxi Hughes’ corner retired him on his stool before the start of the sixth round.
O’Leary twice rocked the usually tricky Hughes with thudding left hooks upstairs in the fourth. He picked up where he left off in the fifth, leaving Hughes’ eyes swollen and the Englishman spiritually beaten.
Hughes’ corner made the wise decision not to send him out for more punishment in the sixth, with a raucous 3Arena erupting as O’Leary was hoisted on trainer Joe McNally’s shoulders and saluted his home support.
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Ireland's Anthony Cacace edges Jazza Dickens to become two-time world champion
IRELAND’S ANTHONY CACACE is a two-time super-featherweight champion of the world after securing a narrow unanimous decision over champion Jazza Dickens in an extremely closely contested bout at the sold-out 3Arena, Dublin.
After 12 rounds of what amounted to fistic chess, all three judges awarded the contest to the challenger from Belfast, who won the WBA 130-pound title on scores of 115-113, 116-112, and 116-113.
The 37-year-old Cacace, who previously held the IBF title before vacating it to avoid mandatory challenges and instead take on more lucrative bouts against higher-profile British opponents, improved to 25-1 (9KOs) as he was crowned for the second time.
Dickens, who will likely feel aggrieved at the decision, dropped to 36-6 (15KOs) after a bout in which virtually every round was difficult to score.
In the chief-support bout, meanwhile, Sheriff Street native Pierce O’Leary earned a career-best stoppage victory over South Yorkshireman Maxi Hughes to improve to 19-0 (11KOs) and pick up a secondary world title.
O’Leary, who sold the bulk of the 8,500 tickets for what is effectively his local hall, rocked Hughes en route to fifth-round retirement and shook the venue with a near-perfect performance. The 26-year-old announced himself as a potential world-level talent and will almost certainly headline at The Point in the near future.
The energy generated by O’Leary’s TKO6 victory continued into the main event ring-walks, with challenger Cacace walking first to Zombie by The Cranberries and Dickens — who has many friends and boxing contacts in Dublin — emerging on stage to a hearty mix of boos and cheers.
But in truth, the headline fight sapped much of the atmosphere from the arena as Cacace and Dickens played out something resembling a stalemate.
In the end, however, the Belfast and rest-of-Irish massive were on their feet celebrating wildly, mirroring their boxer and his team, as the words ‘and new’ reverberated around the amphitheatre.
Round one was a range-finder, with Cacace stabbing Dickens to the body with his straight right hand and controlling the tempo behind his jab. Dickens landed a couple of probing right hands of his own to Cacace’s body early in the round, but it was a clear opening 10-9 for the home fighter.
Dickens became more assertive in a closer but still-tentative second. Each boxer found moderate success upstairs, but this was coin-flip round in which neither man truly made inroads.
The cagey start continued into the third, with Cacace briefly switching to southpaw in an effort to unlock Dickens’ defence. He was disabused of that notion by a tidy Dickens flurry to either side of his jaw, but continued to pivot between stances as the round progressed. Dickens had almost nicked it when he planted a straight left on Cacace’s chin with 20 seconds remaining in the round, but Cacace responded with the most stinging shot of the round — and, indeed, the fight to that point — as he zipped Dickens in the mouth with an overhand right. Dickens may still have been within his rights to lay claim to the round, but it was another squeaker.
The previously effervescent crowd had long since quietened by the fourth, another three minutes of chess, with Dickens landing the volume — if one could describe it as such — and Cacace again touching him to the head with a couple of moments of quality. A tough night for the judges through four.
Cacace, however, brought the crowd to its feet a minute later, exploding into action to start the fifth. A beautiful barrage put Dickens under pressure, with the Belfast man smiling and snarling as he began to unload on his briefly stationary opponent. Dickens weathered the storm without taking massive damage, even flicking out a couple of right hands in response, but Cacace breezed the round. His tail was up as he strutted back to the corner, while Dickens prepared for an earful on the opposite side of the ring.
Cacace continued to lead the dance in a more tepid sixth, albeit he swallowed a couple of neatly delivered left hands from Dickens as the Liverpudlian successfully slowed the home fighter’s advances.
The bout felt close at the turn, perhaps with only a round in it either way.
The seventh was a tight affair again, with champion and challenger picking their moments to raid with only singular shots, few of which landed cleanly. Cacace may have nicked it with some astute pressure in the final minute, but Dickens also found the mark with a tidy one-two upstairs seconds before the bell.
Dickens’ left hand was becoming a menace for Cacace, albeit the Englishman was still using it sparingly. It was likely enough to edge the eighth, with Cacace attempting to box off the front foot but walking into a couple of Dickens left hooks while landing little of note himself.
There was a swagger to Dickens’ movement heading into Round 9, the visitor visibly growing in confidence. He unbalanced Cacace with a couple of combinations, the Belfast man unhurt but smiling back at him to acknowledge his period of success. Dickens upped the ante, landing some of the best shots of the fight as Cacace appeared troubled, and perhaps borderline hurt, for the first time in his career. The away support was on its feet. Dickens had seized control heading into the 10th.
Cacace needed a response — and he conjured some swagger of his own in the following round. Using his head movement to take Dickens’ left hand out of the equation, the Andersonstown native landed the better, more consistent work.
Into the championship rounds, then, and it was all to play for.
But again, there was little to split them in a tense 11th, and there was little else to say about it.
The home crowd roared back to life to start the final round, which appeared to stir both boxers: first Dickens, who found the mark with a combination upstairs, and then Cacace who returned serve. It was a case of pick your poison once more, with Dickens arguably landing the more consistently effective work.
It was Cacace, however, who earned the nod from all three judges, sending Dickens home heartbroken and taking the WBA title up the M1 to Andersonstown.
A fight earlier, local hero Pierce O’Leary, who is believed to have sold over 5,000 tickets for tonight’s event, passed every test, dominating from start to finish before Maxi Hughes’ corner retired him on his stool before the start of the sixth round.
O’Leary twice rocked the usually tricky Hughes with thudding left hooks upstairs in the fourth. He picked up where he left off in the fifth, leaving Hughes’ eyes swollen and the Englishman spiritually beaten.
Hughes’ corner made the wise decision not to send him out for more punishment in the sixth, with a raucous 3Arena erupting as O’Leary was hoisted on trainer Joe McNally’s shoulders and saluted his home support.
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And new... anthony cacace Boxing Irish Boxing