No going back for ‘Jazza’

“IT made me numb. I honestly thought my career was dead.”

James Dickens’ sturdy optimism was absent in the days after the Liverpool man lost his cherished British title to Thomas Ward in the spring of 2017. Now on the verge of high-profile opportunities if he can defeat Ryan Walsh in the final of MTK’s featherweight Golden Contract tournament, Dickens can now recall the darkest period of his career from a more positive standpoint. The featherweight admits that his removal from title class was the springboard for change.

“I didn’t know what I was going to do as I’d only ever as he winds down from another strenuous session at Derry Mathews’ Liverpool gym. “Coming home from Leeds that night I was silent all the way and even when I got home to my family, I had no idea what to say. The British title meant I was always relevant and that I had something that other fighters wanted, but without it I felt empty. Having nothing to defend meant that I wasn’t in demand for promoters anymore and that’s a very hard place for a fighter to be.”