Anthony Cacace is promising WBA junior lightweight champion Jazza Dickens 'a hard night' when they meet at Dublin’s 3Arena on March 14.

Cacace (24-1, 9 KOs) spent years in the wilderness but has forced himself into the spotlight over the past two years.

Renowned as a brutally hard puncher on the British boxing circuit, the Belfast man announced himself on the world stage by bludgeoning IBF champion Joe Cordina to an eighth-round defeat in May 2024.

Since then, he has notched up convincing wins over former featherweight title holders Josh Warrington and Leigh Wood and earned himself the No. 3 position in The Ring’s junior lightweight rankings.

Now, he gets the chance to add a second glorious chapter to his career against another man who has belatedly arrived at the sport’s top table.

“The way the way everything’s turned out for me is just insane,” he told Queensberry.

“Now, I'm just riding the crest of a wave now and have the chance to become a two-time world champion. All the other stuff comes and goes out the window. I am fully focused. I am on the brink of obsessed at this point.

“Jazza has got a really hard night ahead of him and so do I. But I really do genuinely believe that this could be one of the best Irish fights in a long time.”

Cacace will be 37 years old by the time the bell sounds to start the fight with Dickens (36-5, 15 KOs), but he enjoyed being a champion and wants to continue competing at the highest level for as long as possible

Dickens, 34, is enjoying an Indian summer of his own and sits ninth in The Ring rankings, but Cacace doesn’t believe that the tough Liverpudlian has the same level of desire and determination as he.

“If he does then he deserves it,” Cacace said.

“If he does, it makes for a fight of the year contender without a shadow of a doubt.

“He's a southpaw and small. I’m tall. Orthodox, southpaw. I can switch. It makes for an interesting one, too. It's not just a great fight but a world class fight.”