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Trainer Paul Stevenson insists James “Jazza” Dickens will keep a cool head when he faces Kid Galahad this Saturday night.
The unbeaten super-bantamweights clash for the British title on a Channel 5 televised bill at the Magna Centre in Rotherham.
Many experts see it as a genuine 50/50 fight, but Kid Galahad has tried to gain a psychological upper hand by using social media sites to discredit Jazza and his credentials.
Stevenson, however, believes this tactic will backfire as his charge has ignored the barbs and focused all his energy into ensuring he’ll be on peak form when the opening bell tolls.
“Jazza’s not a bit concerned about anything Kid Galahad says, he’s just 100 per cent focused, but I’m sure when the fight comes he’d like Kid Galahad to eat his words,” Stevenson said.
“Galahad tries to model himself on Naseem Hamed so some trash talk is to be expected. He hasn’t made the most classy comments, but they haven’t got to us.
“I think Twitter wars are kid’s stuff and Jazza hasn’t bitten. For Kid Galahad to type the sort of stuff he has, I think it shows a bit of fear and that he’s a bit rattled.
“I don’t think boxers with any substance to them should sit in their bedrooms typing rubbish to their opponents like “I’m going to get you”, it really is schoolboy stuff.
“Could you imagine Jack Dempsey messaging Jess Willard saying ‘This is what I’m going to do you’, or Joe Louis slagging off Rocky Marciano on Twitter? It’s absolutely laughable.”
Due to his previous appearances on terrestrial television, Sheffield’s Kid Galahad will certainly be the better known boxer to casual fight fans, but Stevenson believes this bout could help make Jazza Dickens a household name.
“This is a fight that will highlight Jazza against an opponent that some people expect to beat him,” he said. “It’s an opportunity for him to shine on live TV, make his name and make his own way for the future.
“Jazza’s focused on beating Kid Galahad because he wants to be British champion, but also because he knows it can help him advance to better things.
“He’s got such a good pedigree coming through from the amateurs and he’s an exceptional pro fighter so he knows he can reach the very top.
“Galahad said he’s levels above Jazza. I actually think it’s the other way around. I believe Jazza’s ahead of him and he’ll prove it on Saturday.”
