IBO super featherweight champion Anthony Cacace (23-1, 8 KOs) and former two-time WBA 126-lb champ Leigh Wood (28-3, 17 KOs) both made weight today at Friday’s weigh-in for their headliner on Saturday, May 10th. Cacace vs. Wood will be shown live on DAZN from the Nottingham Arena in Nottingham.
(Credit: Leigh Dawney/Queensberry)
Surprisingly, there’s little buzz about the Cacace-Wood fight from fans, perhaps due to the underwhelming promotion of the event. Compared to other fights, there has not been much of a big push to try and sell this domestic-level scrap.
Weigh-in Results
Anthony Cacace 129.8 vs. Leigh Wood 129.8
This is the only semi-notable fight on the card that will interest fans outside the UK. Some of the other weights on the card are as follows:
Liam Davies 125.2 vs. Kurt Walker 125.4
Owen Cooper 145.7 vs. Chris Kongo 146.7
Sam Noakes 141lbs 7 vs. Patrik Balaz 141
Cacace’s Missed Opportunity
Part of the problem is that Cacace, 36, missed out on a big opportunity to make himself known on the world stage when he vacated his IBF super featherweight title after capturing it from Joe Cordina last year in May in an upset 8th-round technical knockout in Riyadh.
Rather than defend his IBF belt against his mandatory challenger Eduardo ‘Sugar’ Núñez, Cacace vacated the strap to take a better-paying fight against the faded Josh Warrington last September. Cacace won but looked mediocre.
Even if Cacace had lost that fight to Nunez, he’d still have been in demand for lucrative domestic clashes against Warrington and Leigh Wood. It was a mistake on Cacace’s part because he’s returned to being the invisible fighter he once was before his upset of Cordina.
The way he performed against Warrington, it’s perhaps a good thing that he didn’t go through with the fight with ‘Sugar’ Nunez (27-1, 27 KOs), because he would have likely gotten his clock cleaned by the tough Mexican. Still, it looked bad that Cacace relinquished his IBF title instead of defending it against Nunez just to take on the over-the-hill Warrington.
Title Shot Implications
If Cacace wins on Saturday, it should help him get closer to a world title shot at 130 if that’s a high goal. However, Wood is seen as washed up by fans. So, Cacace won’t get too much of a bump from a victory over him. If Anthony wants a quick world title shot, he needs to take on contender Raymond Ford.
If Cacace beats Ford, he’d be given a quick chance at another title. Unfortunately, I don’t think he would even dare take that fight. If Cacace won’t fight Nunez, he surely won’t want to tangle with Ford.
Last Updated on 05/09/2025
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