Jazza Dickens says Anthony Cacace is trying to take his livelihood

Jazza Dickens is not dressing up his title defence against Anthony Cacace as anything bigger or cleaner than it is. He sees Saturday’s fight in Dublin as a man trying to take what belongs to him, and that gave the weigh-in a sharper edge than the respectful build-up had suggested all week.

Dickens, 34, who defends his WBA super featherweight title against former IBF champion Cacace at the 3Arena, made that clear when he was asked about the intensity of the face-off. He did not go down the usual road of promising a great performance or talking about what a win would do for his career. He reduced it to something much simpler and more believable.

“It’s mine,” Dickens said. “You wouldn’t give your livelihood away to anyone, would you? I’m not giving mine away.”

That was the most revealing line from either fighter at the weigh-in because it cut through all the polite talk that had followed them through fight week. Dickens and Cacace have spoken respectfully about one another, and both know the other has had to work hard to get here. Once the belt was sitting between them on Friday, though, Dickens no longer sounded like a man discussing a professional challenge. He sounded like someone protecting his own ground.

He doubled down on that mood when asked about Cacace.

“He’s a great champion, but I’m not letting no one take my belt,” Dickens said.

Cacace (24-1, 9 KOs) has his own belief and said Dickens (36-5, 15 KOs) made “the wrong move” by taking the fight. Dickens, though, looks at it from a simpler place. This is his first defence, his belt, and his means of keeping hold of what he has earned the hard way. That usually produces a better version of a fighter than any press conference line ever will.

Dickens will defend his WBA super featherweight title against Cacace on Saturday night at the 3Arena in Dublin. The event will be broadcast live worldwide on DAZN.