27-05-2025
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)
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