SOME fights just have ‘war’ written all over them, and this one – between all-action workhorses Mark Dickinson and Troy Williamson – appears to be no exception.
The Northeast operators have taken two drastically different routes, not least regarding their weight and experience, but will nonetheless meet for a compelling crossroads matchup this Saturday.
At first glance, it is tempting to look at the natural size advantage of Dickinson, 8-1 (2 KOs), plus the fact that Williamson, 20-4-1 (14 KOs), has lost four of his last five outings, and arrive at a very lopsided conclusion.
But that, of course, would not be doing their fight even a shred of justice. Their super-middleweight contest, in that sense, offers an example of why boxing, perhaps more so than most other sports, can never be ruled by a string of statistics.
More often than not, the story of a fight is determined by what we have seen with our own eyes – rather than any xG-style metric – and, when it comes to the styles of Dickinson and Williamson, it is not exactly difficult to envision a 10-round barnburner unfolding at the Rainton Meadows Arena, Tyne and Wear.
That said, it is only right that Dickinson has emerged as a marginal pre-fight betting favourite.
The 26-year-old suffered his first and only professional blemish against Kazuto Takesako, a seasoned middleweight veteran, last year.
But in fairness, Takesako entered their fight with the far greater experience, having previously claimed the Japanese Boxing Commission title – their equivalent of the Lonsdale Belt – before making several defences of the coveted prize.
And Dickinson, to his credit, showed plenty of resolve to keep pressing forward, even when it must have seemed like he was fighting a losing battle, for the full 10 rounds.
It was not long, then, before ‘Boo Boo’ gave another titanic effort, this time against Reece Farnhill, to secure the English super-middleweight title following an enthralling 10-round affair in his last outing.
But despite having proven that he does, in fact, possess the guts and guile to survive a more attritional encounter – often deep in the trenches – Dickinson is unlikely to enjoy the same degree of success against Williamson, a battle-hardened customer who loves nothing more, it seems, than a fully-fledged tear-up.
Instead, Dickinson is likely to benefit from rediscovering elements of his amateur style, or at least his performance against Grant Dennis, with particular emphasis being placed on his technical prowess.
Against Dennis, who he stopped in the fifth round in 2023, the Durham man engineered each attack with a series of angles and feints, rather than just marching forward with a high guard.
His dynamic footwork and head movement could, therefore, represent an advantage for Dickinson, who may need to display his creativity against the typically relentless, and always durable, Williamson.
Mark Dickinson vs Troy Williamson fight prediction
The pair have shared over 100 rounds in sparring, so will be more than familiar with each other’s styles.
And, as expected, it should not take long for their clash to catch fire, with both men enjoying their fair share of success.
Every now and then, though, Dickinson is likely to land the more eye-catching flurries, courtesy of his sharper footwork, en route to a hard-fought victory on points.
In other words, it is not the physical advantages of Dickinson – against a former British super-welterweight champion, no less – that should win him the fight, but rather his more calculated eye for openings could quite easily emerge as a decisive factor.
