Kid Galahad dismantles Jazza Dickens to win Featherweight world title

There were plenty of fireworks at Matchroom HQ as ‘Savage’ Alen Babic stole the show and Sheffield’s Galahad replicated his 2013 performance against Liverpool’s Dickens. 

The second rendition of Fight Camp got underway last weekend, with Chris Billam-Smith edging out Tommy McCarthy in a champion of champions bout for the British, Commonwealth and European titles whilst Leigh Wood made history by beating China’s Xu Can for the WBA regular world strap. 

This week saw the Featherweights take centre stage again, with a rematch 8 years in the making, but this time with the stakes raised. Kid Galahad v Jazza Dickens would top the bill in a bout for the vacant IBF world title, with three heavyweight prospects and the ‘Blonde Bomber’ featuring on the undercard. 

Here’s how all of the action in week two of Fight Camp went down- 

Aqib Fiaz (6-0-0) v Kevin Baldospino (9-5-2) – 8 rounds at Lightweight: 

Aqib Fiaz was given a real run for his money by Ecuadorian fighter Kevin Baldospino in his seventh professional bout. Baldospino came to fight and unsettled Fiaz in the early rounds, with Fiaz unable to navigate his way around the ring to avoid the scoring shots. Fiaz soon found his rhythm and was able to put together some good shots in the later rounds to earn a narrow victory by just one round according to the referee. 

This is the second time Fiaz has fought a fighter with a winning record, and the second time he’s been given a real run for his money. There will be many who will have disagreed with the scoring, such is life boxing as a prospect and getting a narrow points decision. Aqib already has another fight lined up for September the 11th on a small hall show. 

Winner: Aqib Fiaz via points decision 

Ebanie Bridges (5-1-0) v Bec Connelly (3-9-0) – 8 rounds at Bantamweight: 

After her show-stealing fight with Shannon Courtenay on the Conor Benn v Samuel Vargas card, there are no surprises Bridges attracted the interest of Eddie Hearn for a return to the UK. She kicked off the main card of Fight Camp week two with her opponent for her return being a 3-9 Bec Connelly, a fighter who has mixed it with the likes of Terri Harper and Natasha Jonas. 

In the early going’s, Connelly tried to keep Bridges at distance with her jab to nullify any attacks, but the Aussie continuously found her way through her opponent’s guard. 

The ‘Blonde Bomber’ broke down her opponent and lowered the guard with body shots, setting up for a brutal overhand right that floored her opponent. Connelly bravely got up but was clearly not with it and the referee was forced to stop the fight just as Bridges was looking to prey on a vulnerable opponent. 

Winner: Ebanie Bridges via 3rd round TKO 

Johnny Fisher (2-0-0) v Danny Whitaker (4-3-0) – 4 rounds at Heavyweight: 

The highly-rated ‘Romford Bull’ made his third professional outing as he faced 4-3 Danny Whitaker. A 6”5 man mountain and natural-born athlete, Fisher looked to be well suited for many sports and played Rugby at BUCS level, before switching over to professional boxing. With promoter Eddie Hearn, manager Sam Jones and trainer Mark Tibbs, Fisher certainly has an excellent team around him. Having dismantled his first two opponents, Fisher took a step up to face a fighter with a winning record, albeit very much on the low-level club scene. 

Fisher has made very good use of his rangy yet stiff left jab, opening up all of his opponents to date with such shots. There was no difference here against an opponent who tried to throw back but quickly realised he was out of his depth. Fisher finished Whitaker off with a few thunderous rights, including one late one after Whitaker had already taken the knee, for which he apologised unreservedly. Whitaker bravely continued but the finish was academic and the referee jumped in shortly after. 

A bold move to step Fisher up to fighting winning record opponents in his third bout, but Fisher passed with flying colours. There’s no doubt Johnny is in this for the long run and will look to mow down whoever is put in front of him. 

Winner: Johnny Fisher via 2nd Round TKO 

Alen Babic (7-0-0) v Mark Bennett (7-1-0)- 8 rounds at Heavyweight: 

Fan favourite Alen Babic made his return on week two of Fight Camp, and wherever the ‘Savage’ goes, drama follows… 

This even transgressed the boundaries of the ring as Babic held his arms out wide in the face-off, with his opponent not fearing his antics pulling back the mask of Babic, causing Babic to slap Bennett round the face. Unfazed, Bennett slapped the Croatian twice as hard, which seemed to (unsurprisingly) enrage Babic but also take him aback. 

Bennett took the fight with a 7-1 record at a decent level, with his only loss coming against a respected Nick Webb. Like Babic’s previous opponents, Bennett had a good record at a decent level, but the question as always was how long could he withstand ‘The Savage’…

The truth is quite a long time indeed. This fight wasn’t one for the technical boxing fans, and there certainly wasn’t much of the sweet science going on. This was, as the great Jim Ross would put it, ‘a good old fashioned slobber knocker’. 

As expected, Babic came out all guns blazing, and Mark Bennett decided the best way to fight fire was with fire. For perhaps the first time in his professional career, Babic was slightly rocked by a couple of good shots early in the first, but as the round went on the pressure from Babic was too much, and Bennett was on spaghetti legs as the relentless swinging rights and lefts were raining in on him. However, Bennett was somehow able to hold on and make it to his corner, using the tactic of his gum shield conveniently falling out a few times. Of course, his corner took every last millisecond they could to give their fighter time to recover. 

‘The Savage’ continued to stalk his opponent, throwing power punch after power punch, but to Bennett’s credit, he continued to throwback. Despite Bennett’s courageous efforts to sit and exchange with Babic, the Croatian started turning the screw more and more, landing more power shots and looking more dangerous as the fight went on. 

To Bennett’s credit, he never gave up, never went down and never stopped throwing back, but his corner eventually had to make the call out of his best interests, retiring him after round 5. Babic through a whopping 438 punches in 15 minutes of in-ring action. 

Alen Babic showed more boxing skills in his previous outing against Damian Chambers but reverted to sheer brute force and aggression in this bout. Perhaps it was the antics at the face-off that set off the red mist for Babic, as he had no interest in making that contest anything other than a street fight. Bennett was heroic for the amount of punishment he took, and will no doubt have done his name some favours. However, it’s Babic that progressed to 8-0 and he will look to take another step up, with Dillian Whyte claiming he’s ready for European level. Names like Nathan Gorman and even Carlos Takam have been thrown out there for Babic’s next fight. 

You never quite know what to expect from Babic, other than to expect the unexpected. But perhaps a proposal to his girlfriend during his post-fight interview with Laura Woods wouldn’t have been at the top of the list of things to expect from Babic. A real character. 

Winner: Alen Babic via 5th round retirement. 

Fabio Wardley (11-0-0) v Nick Webb (14-2) BBBofC English Heavyweight Championship fight: 

This one was over before it started. Nick Webb started the fight very well, landing some good shots despite his laboured style. As he did in his previous fight against Eric Molina, Wardley fought his way out of adversity and landed some excellent combinations to corner his opponent. With his opponent on the ropes both literally and metaphorically, Wardley turned the screw and let absolute hell loose on Webb, raining down with some thunderous and clubbing shots. Webb eventually succumbed with nowhere to go and collapsed in the corner, with the referee immediately waving the fight off. Webb was incensed by this decision, and perhaps the referee could have given Webb a standing eight count, although Webb was very clearly buzzed. 

For Wardley, his pathway is clear. He wants Joe Joyce to vacate the British heavyweight title to set up a title shot for himself. 

Winner: Fabio Wardley via 1st round TKO 

Kid Galahad v Jazza Dickens- Vacant IBF World Featherweight Championship fight: 

2013 was a very different time, not only in boxing but in the world itself. Eight years on, and the world is still officially in a Global Pandemic. But as for the boxing, Kid Galahad and Jazza Dickens have gone from being up and comers in their early twenties, to experienced fighters entering their primes. They have gone from fighting on terrestrial television (Channel 5) to fighting on a fast-rising sports streaming service named DAZN. Most importantly, they have gone from fighting for the vacant British title to a vacant world title (IBF). Of course, both promised to have improved and learned a lot from the last outing, but delivering that in the ring is another matter. 

Unsurprisingly, the first round was tentative with both fighters trying to work one and other out, but after that, Galahad starting putting on an eerily similar performance to the 2013 bout. 

Kid showed some excellent feints throughout the fight, luring Dickens in and catching him when he’s off guard. Galahad is very much a fighter that works on the sweet science rather than being a puncher, but his opponent looked to differ as he went looking for some big shots. Dickens swung time and time again, and largely was missing wildly, all the while Galahad was tapping away with regular scoring output. 

Many boxing experts say that the jab is the most important punch, and Galahad was putting some weight behind that argument, causing damage across the span of the fight with a constant, stinging jab. 

Midway through the fight, the Liverpool based fighter mounted the beginning of a comeback of sorts. Galahad was still tapping away with some scoring shots, but Dickens momentarily worked his opponent out and was catching on his backswing. 

This revival of sorts did come at a cost, as Dickens was exerting so much energy just to land enough good shots to haul himself back into the fight. By the time he had brought the scorecards almost level, Dickens was running on fumes. 

As a result, Galahad was able to re-assert his dominance in the fight, resorting back to tapping away with accurate jabs, at which point Jazza’s face was beginning to bloody up. The fight had shades of the Joe Joyce victory over Daniel Dubois, with Galahad repeatedly snapping away that jab at Dickens, causing blood to flow and the eye to start swelling. 

As the fight entered the championship rounds, it wasn’t just becoming unlikely for Jazza Dickens to win, it was becoming impossible. With that in mind, the punishment he was taking and the state of his face and eye was becoming difficult to watch for everyone. Sensibly, his corner waved it off after the 11th with Dickens left eye in tatters, and close to zero chance of him winning the fight. 

Many doubted Kid Galahad because of the Josh Warrington loss, because of the long hiatus and even because of his alleged struggle to make weight. Galahad, over eleven masterful rounds, proved why he belongs at this level, and why he is one of the best Featherweights in the world. Now, with a world title around his waist, the world is very much his oyster. 

Jazza Dickens will no doubt come again, and whilst he has four losses on his resume they have all come against top opposition. It’s now down to him whether he wants to go and have another look at domestic level, whether he wants to fight at European level or whether he wants to keep taking the biggest fights in hopes of earning another world title shot. 

For Galahad, there are many potential exciting fights, but the fight that seems to make sense after last week’s occurrences is the Leigh Wood fight, with two domestic heavyweights at the top of the world in their weight category. 

[column size=”1/2″][blog type=”timeline” posts=”10″ cats=”105″ heading=”Other Sports” heading_type=”timeline” /][/column]

[/columns]