THE DREAM of winning a Midlands title remains alive for Redditch middleweight Carl Dickens after a convincing victory over Sean Gorman at Villa Park on Saturday.
‘The Wallop’ won all four rounds to prevail and set himself up perfectly for another bout at the Holte Suite on December 2 when another victory is likely to leave him “in the mix” for a crack at a British Challenge Belt in the spring and then, victory permitting, a shot at a Midlands title next summer.
The 33-year-old told the Standard: “Before the fight I was spoken to by someone from the British Boxing Board of Control and I was told that two wins would have me in the mix for a tilt at a Midlands crown. That’s the burning ambition. There could be a British Challenge Belt fight before that, but it’s difficult to know at this stage.
“Before that, I’ve got to win in December anyway and I’ve been back in training this week hard at it. I boxed well on Saturday, really showed people what I can do, but if I’d been a little bit busier I could have stopped him.
“That said, I’ve tried to be a bit less gung-ho and smarter in the ring, so in that respect there’s lots of positives for me to take. I feel really confident at the moment and can’t wait for the next fight to come around.”
Dickens was not helped by seeing his opponent changed just 24 hours before the fight. He was expecting to face a 6ft 2in southpaw but ended up tackling 31-year-old Gorman, a 5ft 9in orthodox from Aberystwyth.
“To be honest I’m used to seeing opponents changed. It’s happened a few times now said Dickens, ” who trains at Birmingham’s Eastside gym.
“It was a solid performance. I was disappointed he (Gorman) would only fight four rounds instead of six and he was desperate for the bell in the final 30 seconds of each round. I think I’d have stopped him with two more rounds to play with.
“It’s more good experience under my belt against a decent, strong opponent and I’m in a good place moving forward.”
Dickens would again like to thank his supporters, sports massage physiotherapist Wayne Davis and sponsors Padfiit, Joe Hill Brickwork, Ashlins Barbers, Heaphys, IDM Electrical Midlands, Passion VIP, KJS Training Ltd and The Winyates Bar & Indian Grill.
