James “Jazza” Dickens has made the tough decision to leave his trainer, Peter Taylor, as he gears himself up for one more world title campaign.
The Liverpudlian linked up with Taylor after his world title defeat to Kid Galahad in 2021 and the pair have spent two and a half years together.
Dickens, 32-5 (12 KOs), got the partnership underway by stopping the decent Andoni Gago in five rounds and then won the IBO featherweight title by outpointing South Africa’s Lauro Dlamini in October 2022. His momentum came to a halt the following July when he was stopped by Argentina’s Hector Sosa. Despite an almighty battle with the scales, Dickens was winning a back and forth fight until Sosa produced a stunning right hand to bring matters to a sudden end in the 10th round.
That was last July and Dickens hasn’t boxed since. He has agreed to a number of opponents but has seen seven consecutive dates fall through and although he loved his time in Dublin, he has decided he will be better served by putting down roots somewhere rather than travelling back and forth to his home city of Liverpool.
“I just decided to come home,” he told BoxingScene. “I was lucky to meet a good trainer in Peter Taylor. I’m happy for the time I spent there and it made me a better fighter but at this point in my career and life I just need to be a bit closer to home. I really want to say thank you to Peter and all of the people who took me in and made it a home from home for me.”
Dickens is now 33 years old but still has plenty of ambition. At the end of March, he signed with Let’s Go Management and his new team have been working hard to put him straight back into a meaningful fight.
Dickens enjoyed plenty of success at featherweight – famously beating former WBA champion, Leigh Wood, on his way to winning the Golden Contract tournament – but, after six years, his time at 126lbs is over. When he does return to action, he will do so as a super featherweight.
“I think it’ll be the same as it was at featherweight up to a certain point. I actually don’t know if it got too tough or if it’s because I’ve been out of the ring for so long,” Dickens said. “I’ve never made the weight at super featherweight. I might even be able to get back down to featherweight now that I’m back around a decent weight but I’m gonna stay at super featherweight.”
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