Boxing superstars Tyson Fury and Terence Crawford had been ringside to see James “Jazza” Dickens safe the best victory of his profession in Istanbul final yr.
Dickens beat excellent Olympic gold medallist Albert Batyrgaziev. That victory noticed Dickens safe the WBA Interim super-featherweight title which might be upgraded to the complete world championship.
However the Liverpool-born fighter could not assist however liken his victory to that of a barely completely different determine of boxing folklore.
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“When I was a kid growing up, we all loved Rocky,” the boxer informed Sky Sports activities.
“For me, it was Rocky IV. I always wanted to have 100 fights and win a world title. [My world title fight] was my 100th fight, and I was watching Rocky IV growing up.”
Identical to Sylvester Stallone’s well-known character, Dickens is used to being the underdog.
It was no completely different on this combat. Regardless of Dickens’ standing as a veteran skilled fighter, his opponent Batyrgaziev was undefeated as a professional, youthful and the closely favoured boxer going into the title bout.
Dickens celebrates his victory in opposition to Zelfa Barrett in February 2025
“[The odds against me] were six to one. Batyrgaziev was steaming through everyone, wasn’t he?” Dickens mirrored.
“But some fighters just know that ‘this is my night tonight’, and that was one of those nights for us.
“Fortunately, it was on the most effective night time of all, when it issues.
“I was fighting the Olympic champion from Russia, you know, just like Rocky, and that’s just the way it went. Couldn’t make it up, really.”
Dickens waited 14 years since turning into knowledgeable to say his first world title
Regardless of profitable the belt on an interim foundation initially, his super-featherweight belt was upgraded to fully-fledged world championship standing after former holder Lamont Roach moved up in weight.
It meant Dickens, who turned skilled greater than 14 years in the past, fulfilled a lifelong dream, one fuelled by one other Merseyside legend.
“I’ve seen a picture of John Conteh on the wall the first day I ever went into a boxing gym and I said, ‘I want to win a world title like him,'” Dickens recalled.
“I was thinking, years of hard work, you know, all I ever wanted to do in life was to call myself a world champion.
“As a child rising up, popping out of my circumstances in life, as some extent of proof, a little bit of a chip on my shoulder, and I mentioned: ‘If I can simply be world champion, simply someday.’
“I’m very blessed to be in this position right now.”
However he insists that, even at 34, there’s extra to come back from him. “In this last year there with my coach Albert [Ayrapetyan], I just feel like I’ve started all again,” he mentioned. “I have the mindset of an adult, but the youth of a young fella, it’s unbelievable.
“I would say that is the place you discover your peak – I nonetheless do not imagine I am there but.”
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Dickens’ first title defence will see him tackle the Northern Eire’s Anthony Cacace in Dublin on March 14.
“I’ve got a great level of respect for Anthony Cacace, just as a man as well as a fighter,” Dickens mentioned. “He’s a humble champion. There’s people who I look up to, people who I root for, so it’s going to be hard not rooting for him in this one.”
His final purpose now could be to be considered the most effective fighter within the division. He needs to unify world titles.
“There’s a difference between being a world champion, and the world champion,” the Liverpudlian mentioned. “I want to be the world champion.”
