Anthony Cacace is a two-time world champion. The Belfast man dethroned Jazza Dickens by unanimous decision — 116-112, 115-113, 116-113 — at the 3Arena in Dublin to claim the WBA World Super Featherweight title. It was a disciplined, physically dominant performance from “The Apache”, one that the punch data reveals was decided by a single, extraordinary round.
Anthony Cacace def. Jazza Dickens WBA World Super Featherweight Championship — Unanimous Decision (116-112, 115-113, 116-113) 📍 3Arena, Dublin | Saturday, 14 March 2026 | DAZN
The opening four rounds were competitive. Dickens, five inches shorter with an 8-inch reach disadvantage, varied his angles and crowded exchanges. He was actually the more accurate man in Rounds 1–4, connecting on 24 of 113 thrown (21.2%) to Cacace’s 17 of 99 (17.2%). On many cards he won two of the first four.
Then came Round 5 — and it changed everything.
Cacace landed 21 punches from 62 thrown in the fifth alone, a 33.9% clip, and hurt Dickens with a sharp left hook that put him on the ropes. To put that in perspective: those 21 connections represented 32% of everything Cacace landed across the entire 12-round fight. In one three-minute burst, Cacace built an insurmountable lead.
Rounds 6 through 8 belonged to Cacace. His height and movement strangled Dickens’ jab — across that three-round stretch, Dickens’ jab accuracy collapsed to near-zero, as Cacace made him miss and land on air. Dickens was throwing, but he was throwing into empty space.
Round 9 was Dickens’ best — he landed 10 of 34 (29.4%) and opened a cut near Cacace’s eye from a clash of heads. But the deficit on the cards was too steep. He came out for Round 12 needing a knockout, and Cacace — coolly professional — moved, rolled, and countered his way to the final bell.
The headline is that Cacace outlanded Dickens 86 to 65. But the deeper story is how and when those punches were distributed.
| Stat | Dickens | Cacace |
|---|---|---|
| Total Landed / Thrown | 65 / 313 | 86 / 370 |
| Overall Accuracy | 20.8% | 23.2% |
| Power Punches Landed | 45 | 67 |
| Jab Accuracy | 12.1% | 13.8% |
| Best Round (Landed) | R9 — 10 | R5 — 21 |
The power punch gap — 67 to 45 — is where the fight was truly won. Cacace consistently landed the shots that hurt and score heaviest with judges, while Dickens’ jab (165 thrown, just 20 landed — 12.1%) never became the range-setting weapon he needed against a longer opponent. Strip out Cacace’s Round 5 entirely and the total punch stats finish level at 65 apiece. One round was the whole margin.
Anthony Cacace:
“That shows that on a poor night at the office, I can still win a world title. I want to unify the division — I want Emanuel Navarrete next.”
“Two years ago I had absolutely nothing. I’ve won the IBF, secured my family’s future, done things I never thought possible. Now it’s about legacy — I want to be up there with Carl Frampton and Katie Taylor.”
Frank Warren (Queensberry Promotions):
“He’s a two-time world champion and it’s unbelievable what he’s done. We’re going to get bigger fights for him in Ireland.”
Cacace has now beaten four consecutive world champions — Cordina, Warrington, Wood, and Dickens — and is calling for WBO champion Emanuel Navarrete in a unification bout. Frank Warren has signalled the fight will be staged in Ireland. For Dickens, whose 99-day reign ends here, the road back to a world title will be a long one — but he showed enough heart to suggest it’s not impossible.
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