Jazza Dickens made it three wins in a row with a points victory over Zelfa Barrett on Saturday night
Jazza Dickens has set his sights on a world title showdown against Raymond Ford after claiming the WBA international super-featherweight crown on Saturday night. Dickens produced one of the performances of his career to beat Zelfa Barrett on points at the Co-op Live Arena in Manchester.
Speaking in the build-up to the bout, Dickens said that the fight was a must-win for him, and, to his credit, he boxed like his career was on the line. Barrett struggled to cope with Dickens’ movement throughout the fight, and the more desperate the man from Manchester got, the easier it was for the 33-year-old to land the better shots.
And, following 10-rounds of action, the fight would be decided by the judges’ scorecards, which read 97-93, 97-93 and 96-94 in favour of Dickens.
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“I don’t listen to the bookies, but I did see someone put something saying I was 7/1, which is madness,” he said when asked about his pre-fight underdog tag.
“I wasn’t at my best. Two weeks ago I had a torn bicep and one of my hands was broken as well, so you know what, I could have done a lot more there tonight.”
Asked by IFLTV what comes next, Dickens revealed not only does he want a world title shot, but he would love it against Ford, who called him out a couple of years ago. He said: “It doesn’t make no sense for me not to get a world title shot.
“My goals and aspirations are to be world champion, and I have fought for the IBO twice and the WBA and IBF. I have had four world title shots and I want number five.
“I would love that fight because Ray Ford called me out when I had the IBO a few years ago. There is something personal there. Do I like him? Calling me out like that stuck with me, and I would love the Ray Ford fight.”