ANTHONY Cacace's British super-featherweight title defence against Leon Woodstock has been moved back to December 5.
Cacace had a dental operation to remove some teeth and coach Harry Hawkins said 'the Apache' hadn't been "firing on all cylinders" in training since it so, when he was given the option of rescheduling the Woodstock fight, he decided to take it.
"We were training away but he wasn't firing on all cylinders, he was a bit sluggish," said Hawkins.
"The Frank Warren office came up with the idea to reschedule the fight and Pat Magee mentioned it to me and I thought that was the best option.
"He's back training now and he'll be fine for December and he needs to be at his best because a good performance here puts him into the mix for a world title eliminator. "He's happy that he's got an extra few weeks to train and he'll be bouncing come December."
Cacace will need to be fully fit to take on Woodstock. The Londoner can be out-boxed but he is as game and tough as they come. Cacace will need to keep a cool head in December because Woodstock - whose two losses were against Zelfa Barrett and Archie Sharp - will hunt him down over 12 rounds.
"I've no doubt that Anto can beat him but it's going to take a very good Anthony Cacace to do that," said Hawkins.
"He's a tough boy. He's aggressive, come-forward and he's a very good 12-round man. All that was in my head when I was looking at him in training and I was thinking: 'We need another bit of time here' because he wasn't able to do two sessions a day the way I wanted.
"He has to be 100 per cent for Woodstock because it's going to be a tough fight and it's a stepping stone to bigger things, it's a big opportunity for him.
"I certainly wouldn't want Anto getting into a dogfight with him and I think he has the skill to make it an easier night's work. He can do that by sticking to the gameplan and having a few extra weeks will make it easier for myself and him to really focus on the way to win."
Hawkins added: "Archie Sharp is number three with the WBO and ranked with the WBA and he's with Warren so who's to say they couldn't make that fight?
"It could be a world title eliminator so there's a lot at stake in this Woodstock fight and he needs to go in there 100 per cent."
KATIE Taylor defends her undisputed world lightweight crown against Miriam Gutierrez in the headline act on a Sunday night Matchroom show on November 14 that also includes Terri Harper v Katharina Thanderz (WBC super-featherweight title) and Rachel Ball v Ebanie Bridges (WBA bantamweight title).
Taylor beat Belgian Delfine Persoon in an eagerly-awaited rematch in August to remain the undisputed women's lightweight world champion and will now face Spaniard Gutierrez (13-0), the mandatory challenger.
"When I turned professional it was a bit of step into the unknown in terms of how it all would go so to have these opportunities to headline cards is something I never take for granted," said Taylor.
"It's been a pretty quick turnaround from my last fight but I'm always looking towards the next challenge and I really wanted to fight again before the end of the year.
"The pandemic has obviously made it a very uncertain time in terms of scheduling fights so I'm really excited to have a date to focus on.
"I'm expecting a very tough fight against an undefeated challenger, but I've been back in training camp in the US for the past couple of weeks and I'm looking forward to successfully defending my titles on 14 November."
WEXFORD heavyweight Niall Kennedy was stopped in the third round by Alen Babic on Sunday night - the second stoppage defeat in-a-row for the battling Garda.
Croatian Babic, AKA 'The Savage', moved to 5-0 (all knockouts) with an explosive assault and Kennedy was under pressure from the first bell. Charging out from his corner, Babic unloaded a barrage of early hooks and Kennedy had to withstand clubbing shots throughout the opening round.
A short, savage hook sent Kennedy toppling to the floor in the third and Babic ruthlessly followed up with more sustained shots to force the referee's intervention.
“He was badly shaken," boasted Babic afterwards.
"Even two minutes after the fight he was still badly shaken. He was down two times. It was a hard situation. I was savage, but I wasn’t 100 per cent savage. I’m a little bit annoyed at myself. I’m angry at myself for that. I wanted to bring something new because I knew I could control Niall.
"I was much lighter than him but you saw how I controlled the ring. I wanted to show more stuff but he was too hittable. He was easy to hit so I just went with my guts, I blasted him out to force the stoppage. I beat Niall at maybe 60 per cent of me. I wasn’t shook up once. It was a very easy fight.
"Critics? I love you. Critics made me. They made me better. I will make you into my army. I will keep winning, I'll have 10 fights and 10 KOs. Tom Little is next for sure. He should fight me. He is a cool guy; he is a warrior. It’s going to be a very fan friendly fight. The fans want to see it so lets get in the ring with Tom Little. I do all of this for my fans. I get so much love from my fans. Every single one of them is a part of my success.”
Meanwhile, Londoner Joshua Buatsi came through the toughest test of his career yet as he stopped tough Croatian Marko Calic in seven brutal rounds to retain his WBA International Light-Heavyweight title in the main event.
Earlier, Chantelle Cameron earned a shutout unanimous decision win over Brazil's Adrian Araujo to claim the vacant WBC Super-Lightweight World Title in the evening's co-main event.
