Anthony Cacace’s Thrilling KO in Croke Park is Not to Miss!

Anthony Cacace became the latest Irish boxer to claim world honors, earning the WBA super featherweight title Saturday with a win over James Dickens in Dublin. Charles McQuillan via Getty Images DUBLIN — Anthony Cacace became the latest protagonist in Ireland’s boxing revival Saturday night, dethroning Jazza Dickens to become a two-time super featherweight champion in front of a sold-out 3Arena. In some boxing circles, the rangy Belfast southpaw is considered the unluckiest fighter in the world due to opportunities lost over his professional tenure.

It’s unlikely “Apache” will feel like he deserves that status now though after edging the Liverpudlian stalwart in an excruciatingly close affair. The Queensberry event was the hottest ticket in Dublin on St. Patrick's Day weekend, but neither Cacace nor Dickens can take all the credit for that.

The talk on press row was that Irish undercard prospect Pierce O’Leary sold half of the 9,000 seats himself. Hailing from “just 200 meters down the road” from the venue, as he told reporters in the lead-up to the fight, O’Leary had the whole arena in the palm of his glove from the second his music burst through the speakers. His opponent, Maxi Hughes, stepped up on two weeks’ notice after Mark Chamberlain withdrew from the contest.

Yet, it was Hughes' corner who withdrew their fighter after five rounds of punishment from the north inner-city boxer. The roar of the crowd supported the rumors of O’Leary’s salesmanship as he celebrated in the ring. Emotional after his first big win in a building he’s forecast to become very familiar with over the next few years, he was soon given a regal endorsement as pound-for-pound star Katie Taylor — the most unanimously adored athlete on the Emerald Isle — stepped through the ropes.