James ‘Jazza’ Dickens is relieved to have been elevated to full WBA super featherweight champion status ahead of his fight against Hayato Tsutsumi on December 27.
Roach finally stripped
The WBA stripped former champion Lamont Roach for leaving the division twice in a row to fight at 135 and 140. Dickens (36-5, 15 KOs) captured the WBA interim 130-lb title earlier this year on July 2, knocking out Albert Batyrgaziev in the fourth round.
Jazza (34) says he would soon be elevated to full WBA champion at the time. It finally happened five months later.
Tsutsumi threat
Unfortunately for him, he won’t have much time to enjoy the status of a fully-fledged champion as he has to defend it against the highly exciting 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 considered a future star who can’t miss. So it’s going to take a special performance by Dickens to hold on to his title. This is still a very tough fight for the Japanese fighter, as he has been fed older veterans since turning pro in 2022. If Jazza can defeat Tsutsumi, it will say a lot.
Email Champ Talk
“It’s an email champion, that’s what they tell you. But you don’t get paid to be an email champion,” Jazza Dickens tells Boxing King Mediabooked to be elevated to WBA super featherweight champion status today.
“Let’s go back to the true meaning of the interim title. It means in this case that you’re fighting 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 ago. He’s been out of weight twice now.
“I’m just grateful to be in this position. I was told that night, ‘You’re going to be elevated soon. It’s going to be any day now. I’ve known it for a while, but it’s finally sealed,'” Jazza said.
Last updated on 12/09/2025
