The opening four rounds were closely contested, with momentum shifting back and forth as each man appeared to edge alternate frames. Cacace looked somewhat hesitant early on, often pulling his punches and failing to fully commit. In the fifth round, however, he began to find his rhythm, landing a sharp left hand that knocked Dickens off balance. A follow-up flurry helped Cacace secure the round convincingly.
Cacace experimented with switching stances against the southpaw Dickens, producing mixed results. Still, over the following rounds he seemed to take control, with his height and reach starting to make a noticeable difference. Dickens appeared to take the ninth round after an accidental clash of heads left Cacace visibly frustrated while energizing Dickens, who capitalized by landing several clean shots. Cacace’s usual accuracy and output dipped in the tenth as Dickens pushed for a late surge.
Cacace seemed to edge the eleventh, and Dickens came out with urgency in the final round, pressing forward in desperation. But Cacace managed to neutralize each attack and hold his ground. When the scorecards were read, the judges awarded the hard-fought, technically sharp contest to the new champion, Anthony Cacace, by scores of 115–113, 116–112, and 116–113. Cacace improved to 25–1 with 9 KOs, while Dickens dropped to 36–6 with 15 knockouts.
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