Anthony Cacace became a two-time world champion after defeating Jazzy Dickens by unanimous decision in Dublin to win the WBA super featherweight title on St. Patrick’s weekend.

Cacace won by scores of 116-112, 116-113 and 115-113 in a tight but controlled performance against Liverpool’s southern midfielder, who had periods of success but never did enough to turn the fight to his advantage.

The fight was the main event in Dublin, where Dickens entered the contest looking to make a statement in his first title defense, while Cacace arrived with a chance to regain world honors at 130 pounds.

Cacace took over after a tight start

They both started cautiously, although Cacace opened up the advantage, being the busier of the two. Dickens responded well in the second minute, landing the sharper punch of the round and showing signs that he could cause trouble for the taller man when he let go of his hands.

The fight was tight in the early stages, but Cacace’s moment began to stand out. The third goal was scored with a powerful shot overdue in the round after Dickens had been enjoying his own success, and although the champion had established himself well in round four, the momentum picked up again in round five.

Cacace’s ponderous blow earlier in the session clearly hurt Dickens and forced him into survival mode.

There were then warnings about the utilize of the head as the champion tried to recover, but the challenger had already made a name for himself and from there began to take more control of the fight.

Dickens responded but Cacace closed well

Dickens continued to show heart and didn’t let the fight get away from him completely. He returned to the action at times, particularly in the ninth and tenth sets, when he improved the situation and took advantage of a slight deterioration in Cacace’s rhythm.

However, Cacace built enough of a lead and finished strongly. He boxed intelligently throughout the entire episode, chose his punches well and made sure there was no way back into the fight for Dickens later.

An crucial eleventh round effectively removed any doubts, and the challenger finished the twelfth knowing he had probably done enough.

World Boxing News scored the fight 116-112 for Cacace, which was consistent with one of the official results, and the Irishman was declared the winner by unanimous decision.

With the victory, Cacace was crowned a two-time super featherweight world champion, leaving Dickens time to reflect on a spirited effort that ultimately fell tiny of the novel titleholder’s more composed and eye-catching work.

WBN reported full undercard results throughout the night.

About the Author

Phil Jay is the editor-in-chief of World Boxing News (WBN) and a boxing veteran with over 15 years of experience. Read the full biography.

Author: Sean Crose

Arnold Barboza Jr. made his welterweight debut on Saturday night, defeating Kenneth Sims Jr. While Sims certainly didn’t have a bad reputation, it was Barboza that all eyes were on at the Honda Center. Saturday’s fight, which was to take place at 12:00, was Barboza’s first appearance in the ring after losing to Teofimo Lopez. This may have been Barboza’s only loss, but he hasn’t fought since, which meant fans were probably wondering where his mind was, at least at the moment. Indeed, fighting Sims can answer many questions.

The first few rounds were quick and tense. Each fighter tried to take the momentum, but being so early in the fight, it was too close to tell who was more assertive. One thing was certain, Barboza was the faster and stronger puncher of both fighters. This was not good news for Sims, who was supposed to be a more stylistically refined fighter in the ring. With that in mind, it was a very close fight in which either fighter could have easily walked away from the ring with a victory decision.

As the fight came to an end, the fans began to boo. Fights in California tend to be – or at least often – explosive. But it wasn’t that kind of fight. The DAZN broadcast team called it a chess match and they got it right. It just didn’t seem like the fight was going to produce any fireworks. Still, it was a good match in which Barboza seemed to outperform his determined opponent and Sims continued to try to land his fleet more often.

There was a headbutt in the later rounds, of which Barbosa suffered the worst. But that wasn’t enough to stop him. The final rounds were the same as the rest of the entire fight… the ones that were dominated by Barboza. Sims gave it his all, but on Saturday night he simply didn’t have what it took to beat Barboza. Suffice it to say, Barboza left the ring with a unanimous decision victory added to his resume. It was clearly deserved. If anything is certain, it is that Barboza has made a sturdy move into the welterweight division. It will be captivating to see where his career goes.

Oscar Collazo and Gabriela Fundora retained their titles with dominant stoppage victories Saturday night at the Honda Center in Anaheim, California.

It should also be added that former interim champion Arnold Barboza Jr. impressed in his welterweight debut, defeating Kenneth Sims Jr. by wide unanimous decision.

Unified strawweight champion Collazo (14-0, 11 KO) retained his WBA and WBO titles with a sustained body attack that knocked down Jesus Haro and forced him to retire on his stool slow in the sixth round.

Haro put up little resistance when Collazo started boxing and increased the pressure when he realized his opponent had nothing for him. After three rounds, Puerto Rico’s Collazo began driving tough shots to the body, with Haro flinching in pain with each powerful shot. The outcome was inevitable as Haro (13-4, 2 KO) began to retreat and take cover under fire.

Haro ran out of gas after six rounds and elected to stay in his corner for round 7, leading to Collazo’s fourth straight stoppage. Collazo landed 128 of 287 punches (44.5%) compared to 38 of 229 (16.5%) for Haro.

Fundora (18-0, 10 KO) strengthened her position in the undisputed flyweight championship with a one-sided stoppage of Viviana Ruiz. Fundora, the fourth-ranked pound-for-pound player in ESPN’s rankings, easily dissected Ruiz, using her height and reach advantage to secure her fourth straight stoppage win.

Ruiz, 43, may have been two decades older than Fundora, but the age difference wasn’t the reason she couldn’t muster enough strikes against the women’s flyweight queen. Fundora (23) used her jabs and movements to keep Ruiz (10-3, 5 KO) on the outside and without a window to break through. Still, she tried to put pressure on Fundora and paid the price by finding herself on the wrong side of a punch combo. Fundora landed her with a left hand in the fifth round and set the stage for the finish.

In Round 7, Fundora sat on her punches and attacked the challenger, leaving referee Ray Corona no choice to step in and decide to stop the fight. Fundora is teasing a move up to 108 pounds, which is a scary proposition for her potential opponents. But first she wanted to make sure fans were satisfied with her dominance and finishing skills.

“I just want the fans to go home every time and say, ‘Damn, she got another knockout,’” Fundora said.

Barboza (32-1, 11 KO) returned to the win streak against Sims after suffering the first loss of his professional career against Teofimo Lopez last May.

Barboza was a step ahead of Sims in almost every possible way, as he boxed beautifully, suffered little injury other than head-butting wounds, and appears to be a formidable fighter in the 147-pound weight class.

Barboza took control of the fight early and was never forced to give up the convenience of dissecting Sims through 12 rounds. Not known for his finishing skills, Barboza focused on the good moments and controlled the distance. He never allowed Sims to set up a sustained attack and either comboed or moved out of range.

The judges scored the fight 117-111, 118-110 and 120-108 for the fighter from Long Beach.