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The Independent
27-05-2025
- Business
- The Independent
Who is Anthony Cacace? Fight record, stats, next bout and more
Anthony Cacace returns to action this weekend as one half of the headlining act at the Motorpoint Arena in Nottingham on Saturday, May 10. Standing 6ft tall with a reach of 71inches, the Belfast-born fighter may be the A side for the encounter, but he will experience a hostile crowd in full support of hometown hero Leigh Wood. With a 23-1 record (8 KOs) after 13 years of his professional career, Cacace has breached the top levels of British and Irish boxing in the last 18 months. Anthony Cacace's early days as a pro and first setback A talented amateur in his native Northern Ireland, Cacace took the momentum from his 36-8 record in the amateur ranks into his first year as a pro. 2012 remains the busiest year of his career, taking on six fights and winning them all. His schedule eased immediately after the following year, with 'Anto' only taking on two fights, including a win over Osnel Charles in Philidelphia, USA. Having picked up his first belt in the form of the Boxing Union of Ireland super featherweight title in just his fifth fight, Cacace had to wait for his next shot at a championship. It would arrive three years later in 2015, when he defeated Ronnie Clark in Scotland to become the BBBoC Celtic super featherweight champion. That sent Cacace into contention for the British and Commonwealth titles, with the 'Apache' receiving his chance in 2017. Unfortunately for Cacace, the biggest fight of his career ended in defeat. Martin J Ward defeated him to win the British and Commonwealth straps at Wembley Arena by unanimous decision. Set back by the loss, Cacace returned before the end of 2017, defeating journeyman Reynaldo Mora. However, Anto did not take to the ring for the entirety of 2018, a sign of the inactivity that was to come. In 2019, Cacace would re-enter title contention, this time proving successful in his pursuit of the British super-featherweight title. Via split decision, Cacace was victorious over the previously unbeaten Sam Bowen. Now into his 30s, Cacace would be inactive for almost two years. That was because his first defence of his new belt would be postponed four times, thanks to a mixture of injury and illness for both Cacace and his opponent Leon Woodstock. Eventually the fight was made, with Cacace the victor by a unanimous decision at the Utilita Arena in Birmingham. Anthony Cacace becomes IBO and IBF world champion Just over a year after his first and only defence of his British super featherweight title, Cacace was fighting for a world championship – albeit a minor one. He faced the previously unbeaten Michael Magnesi in Manchester in 2022, winning a tight split decision. That meant he took the IBO super featherweight belt off the hands of the Italian, before putting the title on the line against Damian Wrzesinski in a Belfast homecoming. A far more convincing unanimous decision victory over the Pole cemented Cacace's position as one of the top British and Irish fighters in the division, paving the way for a bout with the division's biggest names. The chance for Cacace to test himself against the best of the super featherweights came in 2024 when he fought unbeaten Welshman Joe Cordina on the undercard of the first Oleksandr Usyk-Tyson Fury fight in Saudi Arabia. Already stunning Cordina with a third-round knockdown, Cacace completed the shock with an eighth-round stoppage – earning himself the first major world title of his career in the form of the IBF super featherweight belt. The story behind Anthony Cacace vacating his IBF title Mark Robinson/Matchroom Boxing When Cacace takes on Wood this Saturday, May 10, he will only have his IBO world title on the line. That is because the Apache decided to vacate his IBF world championship in order to secure more lucrative fights. The IBF had allowed Anto to remain IBF champion when he fought former featherweight world titleholder Josh Warrington towards the end of 2024. Even though the IBF title would not be on the line, a defeat against Warrington would have seen Cacace lose his belt. Cacace would be victorious over Warrington, but still ended up leaving his belt behind. Anto's reasoning was clear – towards the tail end of his career at 36, the money earned from certain opponents outweighed the potential earnings from title defences. As such, Cacace has elected to fight Wood, rather than face his mandatory challenger Eduardo Nunez. Anthony Cacace record Nationality: Northern Irish Age: 36 Height: 6' 0" Reach: 71" Total fights: 24 Record: 23-1 (8 KOs) Sign up to a DAZN subscription to watch the very best boxing DAZN is the home of combat sports, broadcasting over 185 fights a year from the world's best promoters, including Matchroom, Queensberry, Golden Boy, Misfits, PFL, BKFC, GLORY and more. An Annual Saver subscription is a one-off cost of £119.99 / $224.99 (for 12 months access), that's just 64p / $1.21 per fight. There is also a Monthly Flex Pass option (cancel any time) at £24.99 / $29.99 per month. It is not just about fight night, a DAZN membership also includes access to documentaries and features, weekly magazine shows, live fight watchalongs, press conferences, weight-ins, open workouts, exclusive interviews and access to training camps, and podcasts and vodcasts.
Daily Mirror
30-04-2025
- Sport
- Daily Mirror
Chris Eubank Jr threatened to cancel Conor Benn fight hours before first bell
There was plenty of drama ahead of Saturday night's contest, but promoter Eddie Hearn revealed Eubank Jr's team threatened to cancel the clash just hours before the first bell Eddie Hearn has revealed Chris Eubank Jr' s team threatened to cancel his fight with Conor Benn just hours before the pair were expected to walk to the ring. On Friday, footage emerged online of Eubank Jr's team telling British Boxing Board of Control general secretary Robert Smith of their frustration at Benn's Everlast gloves during a heated meeting. Their argument that the gloves contained horse hair - which while legal remains divisive as modern gloves are typically padded with foam. 'They've got horse hair in them,' a member of Eubank Jr's team complained to Robert Smith. 'The gloves were approved by the British Boxing Board of Control,' replied the BBBoC chief. 'You should have been here at the beginning. They are done.' Eubank Jr's team replied: 'This is not okay. We specified all the way through that we don't want horse hair.' Smith then said: 'You haven't involved the British Boxing Board of Control (BBBoC) and the Board of Control are the people that approve the gloves. Those gloves are approved, as these gloves are approved and all these other gloves are approved.' Just a few days removed from the blockbuster showdown, Hearn has admitted Team Eubank Jr threatened to jeopardise the fight. When asked about the situation regarding the gloves dispute, Hearn told iFL TV:"We received messages saying they're not going to fight if we wear those gloves. And we said 'look, the gloves are sanctioned by the British Boxing Board of Control.' And then they said 'well, then there's no fight.' But that didn't get back to Conor. That's just stuff we deal with all the time." The boxing promoter added: "We said 'go on then, pull out of the fight.' I believe they spoke to the Saudis or whatever, but they just carried on. You have a rules meeting, a British Boxing Board of Control inspect the gloves. They didn't like it because it had some horse hair in it - which is standard. Virtually every pair of gloves has horse hair in it in some respect and they just didn't want him wearing the gloves. I think it was the same gloves Liam Smith wore when he stopped him (Eubank Jr). But in the end, we just said 'crack on,' and it just kind of evaporated." Despite all the drama, the pair would go head-to-head in the end on Saturday night. After a strong start from Benn, Eubank Jr's experience prevailed in the second half of the contest. Eventually, the latter would go on to get his hand raised after securing a unanimous decision victory. "I knew I was capable of that. I just needed someone to bring it out of me," said Eubank Jr. "I didn't expect Conor to be the guy to do that. I didn't know he had that in him, I thought I would break him early. I underestimated him, I didn't prepare for a fight like that. The fact our fathers fought years ago brought out a different spirit and I am happy to have my father with me. He needed to be here. All this is because of him."
The Irish Sun
29-04-2025
- Sport
- The Irish Sun
Chris Eubank Sr held my hand in hospital and told me I'm the superior fighter, claims defeated Conor Benn
CONOR BENN said he was comforted by Chris Eubank Jr's dad from his hospital bed following their brave battle. Eubank Jr beat Benn to walk away from Tottenham's stadium Advertisement 5 Conor Benn said he was comforted by Chris Eubank Jr's dad from his hospital bed Credit: YouTube/iFL TV 5 Conor Benn with Chris Eubank Sr and his dad Nigel Credit: AFP But both ended up in the same hospital - And Benn claimed Eubank Sr - He told "We were just talking, man. He's a vibe. He's a vibe. I mean half of it I don't know, half of it I couldn't understand what he was trying to say. Advertisement READ MORE IN BOXING "Then the other half was me in and out of consciousness. Can't remember much." Benn, 28, confirmed that Eubank Jr, 35, was only a few beds down from him after they were sent to hospital for precautionary checks. He said: "I mean, it was a bit of a weird turn out, to be honest. It's like a family affair all of us at the hospital." Eubank Sr had been vehemently against the second generation bout - which followed three decades after his win and draw over Benn's dad Nigel. Advertisement Most read in Boxing Eubank Jr vs Benn: SunSport's verdict THIRTY-FIVE YEARS of the Conor Benn and Chris Eubank Jr rivalry was settled with 36 minutes of violence. Yet with all the tremendous heart shown by both boxers, there wasn't much technique, skill or finesse on display here. After tons of trash talking, egg throwing and mind games that have been played out to the world over the last three years, SunSport's Wally Downes Jr gives his verdict on what should be the final chapter in one of British boxing's biggest beefs. CASINO SPECIAL - BEST CASINO BONUSES FROM £10 DEPOSITS He warned his son's best days at middleweight were over and Benn should not have been allowed to go up to 160lb. Eubank Jr also missed weight on Friday's by an agonising 0.05lb - costing him £375,000 - while also being restricted to a 10lb rehydration limit. Chris Eubank Jr and Conor Benn in classy nods to their iconic dads during ringwalks for huge grudge fight But - like a scene out of WWE - Eubank Sr did reunite with his boy - sending the 67,000 fans at Spurs' £1billion stadium wild. Advertisement And he watched as his severely dehydrated and exhausted son A rematch clause is included in the contract but even Benn himself could turn it down to instead target welterweight champion Mario Barrios. He said: "If the rematch doesn't happen I'd love to fight Barrios for the WBC world title, for sure. "I'd love that to be my next fight if it's not Eubank." Advertisement Both men were out of hospital by Monday but Eubank Jr now The former super-middleweight world title challenger shared footage of himself using what appeared to be a portable sauna blanket and sweat suit. Both are prohibited under BBBoC rules and although they argue it is not clear when the video was taken - Eubank Jr faces a probe. Benn meanwhile revealed he will fly out to New York to watch Ryan Garcia make his welterweight debut against Rolando Romero. Advertisement And Benn warned if he does indeed return to the 147lb division for his next fight - it KOs a rematch with Eubank forever. He said: "I'd either do the rematch at 160 next or drop back down to 147 and stay there. "I mean, it's a hard one for me to just accept that he's beaten me and not avenge the loss. We'll see but I know the rematch clause is there. "All the terms have been agreed. We shall see." Advertisement 5 Eubank Jr beat Benn by unanimous decision Credit: Getty 5 WBC welterweight champion Mario Barrios is another option for Benn Credit: Getty 5 Benn says he will fly out to New York to watch Ryan Garcia fight Credit: Getty
