Chris Oliver hit the target with last weekend's preview, and he returns with his take on the big boxing action from Belfast on Saturday night.
Boxing betting tips: Saturday action
2pts Anthony Cacace to win stoppage at 2/1 (Unibet)
1pt Pierce O’Leary to win by decision at 17/10 (QuinnBet)
There are a lot of similarities about the careers of James ‘Jazza’ Dickens and Anthony Cacace as they get ready for battle this weekend.
Both of these southpaws have done things the hard way, had no favours from anyone and are now enjoying their best success in the twilight of their career.
They square off at Dublin’s 3Arena on Saturday night, live on DAZN, in front of a sell-out crowd as Dickens makes the first defence of his WBA super featherweight title.
Despite being the champion, Dickens is a 5/2 outsider and Cacace is a best price of 5/11 as both men arrive in fine form.
Classy Cacace a warm favourite
Injuries and boxing politics have meant a stop-start career for Cacace (24-1, 9 KOs), who had to wait a long time for his title shot but is really making up for lost time now.
The Belfast native sprang a big surprise when relieving the previously unbeaten Joe Cordina of his IBF title via an eighth-round stoppage in May 2024, before giving up the belt in favour of more lucrative options. He got his pay days next in the shape of Josh Warrington, who was widely outpointed, and Leigh Wood, who was stopped in the ninth session when we last saw Cacace 10 months ago.
At 37, Cacace looks better than ever and he is finally getting the rewards that his talents deserve, something which can also be said of Dickens (36-5, 15 KOs).
The 34-year-old from Liverpool has had an up-and-down career, including two failed world title attempts with a mixture of good wins and agonising defeats, but a stellar 2025 sees him flying higher than ever right now.
He was brought in as a ‘name’ for Zelfa Barrett to look good against in February last year but he tore up the script by outboxing the latter to claim a unanimous decision victory. Then came the best win of his career, as he stopped Albert Batyrgaziev, who won gold at the Tokyo 2020 Olympic games, inside four rounds with a brilliant display in July.
Dickens was upgraded to WBA champion following that stunning victory and now gets his first defence against a big name in a city where he will have plenty of support. For Cacace, he will also have a lot of fans in the arena and gets the chance to become a two-time world champion.
The big question is whether Dickens can back up his superb performance last time out, but he hasn’t always been the most consistent and only his very best will give him a chance here.
The champion is a very adept boxer-puncher at his best and he is versatile, but the feeling is that he will need to get on the inside to be effective against his bigger, longer opponent here.
Cacace did well to stop the smaller Warrington from working up close when they met in September 2024 and he looks capable of keeping Dickens at bay as well. Cacace is huge for the weight and the physically stronger man here, too.
His size and strength played a big part in his wins over Cordina and Wood, both of whom were stopped in the second half of the fight and it could be the same method of victory for Cacace this weekend.
Dickens could be deterred by the hard, straight shots of Cacace and if this is fought on the outside, then it should play into the challenger’s hands.
What are the best bets?
It’s just 13/8 for Cacace to win by decision but four of Dickens’ five defeats came inside the distance and I believe Cacace is big enough to make that five stoppage defeats for the Liverpudlian.
I prefer the 2/1 available about CACACE claiming the belt BY STOPPAGE and while it is tempting to boost those odds by siding with a second-half victory for the challenger at 4/1, the safer option is the former bet in case this does catch fire earlier than expected in what is sure to be a red-hot atmosphere.
The chief support bout is an intriguing prospect versus veteran match-up, as the unbeaten Pierce O’Leary (8/15) takes on Maxi Hughes (2/1) in a fascinating super lightweight contest.
Like the two combatants in the main event, Hughes (29-8-2, 6 KOs) has been around the block plenty of times and has enjoyed some of his best moments late in his career. However, he didn’t look great when losing a decision to Bakhodur Usmonov in December and age may just be catching up with him now at 36.
Conversely, O’Leary (18-0, 10 KOs) is a promising 26-year-old who has impressed so far and he is improving all the time. His performance to claim the European title when outpointing Liam Dillon last summer was an accomplished one, while he has also picked up good wins against Darragh Foley (UD) and the previously unbeaten Hovhannes Martirosyan (KO9).
O’Leary was brought up just a few hundred yards down the road from this venue in Dublin and fighting in his home town for the first time looks the perfect stage for him to claim the biggest scalp of his career.
Hughes is tricky and durable so the local man may have to do this the hard way to come out on top, but O'LEARY’s skills and momentum can see him land a DECISION VICTORY at 17/10.
Posted at 12:50 GMT on 13/03/26
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