Heavy-handed Travis Dickinson has had to bide his time for a shot at revenge. He’s had to win other fights and he’s had to stay patient while an original rematch date was delayed.
But, on November 8 at Glow, Bluewater, the 26-year-old English light-heavyweight champion gets the chance to face Bob Ajisafe for a second time in the final of the MaxiNutrition Knockout tournament, live on Channel 5.
“I’ve improved a lot as a fighter since that first fight with Ajisafe,” Dickinson said of his 10-round decision loss in December 2012. “I looked at that fight, saw what I had did wrong and basically realised I boxed absolutely terribly. It will be a different fight this time round, though.
“That one defeat changed me a lot. I was getting used to winning all the time before that and I took it for granted. When Ajisafe beat me, I realised it wasn’t always going to be that way and that I had to improve, change certain things and step my game up. Now I’m a much better fighter. Now I’m not bothered about that defeat.”
Originally scheduled for October 4, Dickinson’s return with British champion Ajisafe was pushed back a few weeks on account of an injury picked up by the Yorkshireman in training. At first dejected, Dickinson quickly learned to embrace the delay.
“At the time I was frustrated, but now, with more training under my belt, it’s been for a good reason,” said the man from County Durham. “I had a chest infection back then and this has given me time to properly get over that. I’ve also had more time to prepare myself and get in great shape. The delay has been to my benefit. I’ll be a much better fighter on November 8.
“We’ve got a game plan that I’m working on and, like any game plan, it may or may not work. But, if Plan A doesn’t work, we’ve added a few more strings to our bow and have now got Plans A through to Z. I’ll have plenty of options to pick from.”
Plenty of motivation, too. After all, in addition to the British and English light-heavyweight titles being on the line, ‘Tasty’ Travis also knows victory over Ajisafe will deliver him the very thing he has craved since 2012 – revenge.
“Revenge is the main driving force for me right now,” said Dickinson, 17-1 (7 KOs). “I really, really want to beat Ajisafe and erase that defeat from my record.
“Of course, winning the British title has been my ultimate goal since I first started boxing, so there won’t be anything left to chance on November 8. I’m going to go in there and do everything I can to win.”
