Anthony Cacace will reportedly vacate his IBF super featherweight title to fight Leigh Wood. The IBF belt will become vacant for #1 Eduardo ‘Sugar’ Nunez (27-1, 27 KOs) and #3 Masanori Rikiish (16-1, 11 KOs) to fight for it.
It makes sense for 35-year-old Cacace (23-1, 8 KOs) to vacate the IBF title to fight former two-time WBA featherweight champion Leigh Wood (28-3, 17 KOs) because it’s a fight which will pay well for Anthony.
Nunez’s time to shine?
Eduardo ‘Sugar’ Nunez has looked impressive, knocking out his last 17 opponents since ending his solo career with a six-round unanimous decision against Hiram Gallardo in June 20018. In Nunez’s last four fights, he has defeated Miguel Marriaga, Oscar Escandon, dusted off Jesus Martin Ceyca, and Willmank Canonico Brito.
It’s hard to know how good octogenarian Rikiish, 30, is because he’s fought mostly unknown opposition his entire career in his native Japan. He lost once as a pro, but he fights under the radar against opposition most fans have never heard of. This is not a good sign.
Slim chance of success
The 13-year professional Cacace’s chances of success against ‘Sugar’ Nunez would have been minimal due to the strength, youth and aggressiveness of the Mexican fighter. It wouldn’t have been a huge payday for Cacace to go against Nunez, and the result probably would have been bad for him.
Last year, Cacace defeated IBF 130-lb champion Joe Cordina, destroying him in eight rounds on May 18 in Riyadh. The fight wasn’t even close because Cacace was too fast and too busy for the weight-drained Cordina in that contest. Cacace dropped Cordina in the third round, and he never seemed to recover from it.
In Cacace’s last fight, he defeated former featherweight champion Josh Warrington by a 12-round unanimous decision on September 21 in the Anthony Joshua vs. Defeated Daniel Dubois undercard at Wembley Stadium in London.
I watched the fight, and Cacace seemed to take it easy on Warrington, staying in second gear the entire contest and not giving him the same rough treatment he gave Cordina in his previous fight. If that’s what the game was, it was a kind gesture on Cacace’s part as Warrington looked completely fired up. He would have folded like a cheap suit if Cacace had chased him all night like Cordina.
“With Anthony Cacace expected to vacate his IBF belt to fight former champion Leigh Wood, the super featherweight belt will be decided by a fight between top-ranked Eduardo Nunez and Japan’s no. 3 Masanori Rikiishi, I’m told,” Lance Pugmire continued X.
