James ‘Jazza’ Dickens is relieved at being elevated to full WBA super featherweight champion status ahead of his fight against Hayato Tsutsumi on December 27th.
Roach Finally Stripped
The WBA stripped previous champion Lamont Roach for leaving the division twice in a row to fight at 135 and 140. Dickens (36-5, 15 KOs) had captured the WBA interim 130-lb title earlier this year on July 2, knocking out Albert Batyrgaziev in the fourth round.
Jazza, 34, says that at the time, he would soon be elevated to full WBA champion. It’s finally happened five months later.
Tsutsumi Threat
Unfortunately for him, he won’t have much time to enjoy the status of being made a full champion because he’s got to defend it against the highly hyped former Japanese amateur star #3 WBA Tsutsumi (8-0, 5 KOs) on the ‘Night of the Samurai’ card on December 27th on DAZN PPV at the Mohammed Abdo Arena, Riyadh.
Tsutsumi, 26, is viewed as a can’t-miss future star. So, it’s going to require a special performance by Dickens to hold onto his title. It’s still a very tough fight for the Japanese fighter, as he’s been fed older veterans since turning pro in 2022. If Jazza can defeat Tsutsumi, that would say a lot.
Email Champ Talk
“It’s an email champ, that’s what they say to you. But you don’t get paid for being an email champ,” said Jazza Dickens to Boxing King Media, discussing being elevated to WBA super featherweight champion status today.
“Let’s go back to the truest sense of the interim title. It means in this case that you fight for this title because the champion [Lamont Roach] has left the division, but he hasn’t vacated yet. So, you have Lamont Roach, who last fought in the division 18 months before. He’s been out of the weight twice now.
“I’m just grateful to be in this position. I got told that night, ‘You’re going to be elevated very soon. It’s going to be any day now. I’ve known this for a while, but it’s finally been stamped,” said Jazza.
Last Updated on 12/09/2025
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