Cacace emerged to the strains of ‘Zombie’ which brought an already pumped-up crowd to raise the roof once again as he waited on Dickens who seemed non-plussed by the hostile environment.
The champion was posing the southpaw puzzle to Cacace for the first time since 2015 and his career-best win over Albert Batyrgaziev last summer saw him open with confidence, targeting the body.
Cacace, on his own run of impressive form, enjoyed success off the jab, seeking to time the champion on the way in but would take a solid counter of his own in the second.
It was warming up nicely after the early rounds with Dickens looking more comfortable, darting in and out as he targeted the body and slipped some raids from Cacace who temporarily joined him as a southpaw, but the Belfast man did enjoy success late in the third with a right hand landing flush.
The fourth was cagey with both clearly respectful of the other as Dickens was happy to keep just enough distance, perhaps trying to lure the challenger to step in and punish, but Cacace wasn’t taking the bait.
There was a sense that Cacace had enough of that pattern and he went straight on the attack to begin the fifth, letting out an audible growl of intent, driving Dickens back as he began to bring his uppercut into play as Dickens seemed to be feeling the pressure.
The champion steadied a little in the sixth as he got through with a left as the action began to retreat into a technical battle as success was limited to single shots either way, neither willing to fully gamble, yet it seemed like Cacace was trying to do a little more.
It was Cacace’s turn to look a little uncomfortable in the ninth as Dickens got through with left hands after the Belfast man turned to complain to the referee about a head clash – one of many in the fight.
Still, it appeared on a knife-edge going into the final round of a fight neither really took a firm grip of and a sense those three minutes could prove crucial.
Dickens certainly opened with more urgency with Cacace fighting off the back foot, but was still able to thud home some rights of his own.
Both appeared happy with their night’s work at the final bell but there was a sense the Belfast corner was the happier and so it proved as Cacace returns to the top.
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