IBO super-featherweight world title: Anthony Cacace bt Josh Warrington pts
ANTO Cacace defended his IBO super-featherweight title in commanding style with an emphatic win over Josh Warrington at Wembley Stadium.
Cacace, using his reach and physical superiority brilliantly, got his tactics spot on against the Leeds Warrior who was, as always, brave and aggressive, but lacking the relentless energy that had seen him crowned world champion at featherweight half-a-dozen years ago.
That’s taking nothing away from Cacace of course
With this win, the unassuming Andersonstown native has broken through boxing’s glass ceiling and can now look forward to lucrative super-fights from here on in. His options includes defending his IBF title against that organisations mandatory challenger Eduardo Nunez and that fight could be scheduled for Belfast on St Patrick’s weekend next year. There is also talk of a move to lightweight to face pound-for-pound superstar Vasiliy Lomachenko.
The only way is up for Cacace who has proved he belongs in elite company. He dealt with Joe Cordina brilliantly in Saudi Arabia in May and rubberstamped his pedrigree at Wembley showing class, composure and strength to navigate to a landslide win on the scorecards of all three judges who had it 118-110, 117-111, 117-111.
Cacace, switching to the orthodox stance, got the start he wanted. After a cagey first couple of minutes he fired out the jab and a left hook snapped Warrington’s head back mid-round and, although the Leeds man got the better of the second, that set the tone for the fight.
In the third, Cacace took control of the centre of the ring and, crucially, controlled the distance, spearing out the left jab as Warrington came on the attack.
A minute into the fourth he cracked a right hook flush off Warrington’s jaw. The Leeds native felt it and backed off as Cacace let another go and there was more of the same from the former Oliver Plunkett ABC and Holy Trinity ABC star in the fifth.
Warrington had nowhere to go. He couldn’t compete at range and Cacace tied him up when he got inside as he opened up a sizeable gap on the scorecards.
The Leeds Warrior began to step on the gas in the middle rounds but broad-shouldered Cacace took the life out of his legs in the clinches and his impressive workout meant he kept the jab in his face and followed up a right-left uppercut combo with a raking left hook at the end of the seventh.
Lacking sparkle in his footwork, Warrington came forward in straight lines – as Cacace had predicted – and by the ninth he was blowing hard and looking tired. After a scrappy tenth, when referee Howard Foster had to repeatedly separate the fighters, Cacace, switching back to southpaw, kicked for home in the championship rounds.
Warrington soaked up a lot of leather as he tried to get into range for a game-changing right hand as Cacace’s corner urged their man on for a big finish. There was brief drama in the last when Cacace slipped on the wet canvas and seemed to sprain his ankle.
He took a couple of left hooks as Warrington – who hinted at retirement afterwards – went for broke but Cacace was never in any real trouble and celebrated at the final bell because he knew he’d done enough.
The scorecards confirmed a dominant performance from Cacace that will have sparked jubilation across Ireland and in his father’s native Italy.