WOOD RETURNS IN BLOCKBUSTER CLASH WITH CACACE
October 7th, 2023…
That was the last time former WBA World Featherweight champ Leigh Wood stepped foot inside a professional boxing ring, and this weekend, he returns to action in arguably the toughest test of his career against the former IBF World Super-Featherweight champion, Anto Cacace.
In what promises to be a thrilling encounter, only the IBO 130lbs title is on the line for both fighters, but with another busy undercard, we’ve got a night of world-class boxing to look forward to, so let’s start off by taking a look at the main event.
Two men whose power is notoriously underrated, Anto Cacace and Leigh Wood put it all on the line this weekend.
After reclaiming his WBA World Title from Mauricio Lara in May 2023, Wood then went on to stop fellow British rival Josh Warrington in October of that year, as previously mentioned.
Cacace, meanwhile, has been on a wild journey of his own.
Very much considered one of the most avoided boxers in the 130lbs division, he picked up IBF gold by overpowering Joe Cordina to become world champ in May of last year, before claiming a fairly comfortable points victory later that year against that man, Josh Warrington, once again.
An interesting fact about Cacace and Wood is that their last fights were both against the Leeds man, Warrington, albeit 13 months apart, and that time difference could play a massive part in how this fight goes.
The 19 months between this fight and his last with Warrington is the longest period Wood has endured outside of the ring since making his professional debut in 2011, and that’s a concern considering Cacace fought him just eight months ago, and he also had the Cordina fight in between Wood’s fight with Warrington and his.
The style of fighter that Cacace is — a relentless southpaw who mixes his shots well to head and body — would be an absolute nightmare for the most active of fighters, never mind an inactive fighter.
Something that Wood does have, though, which Cacace doesn’t, is a lot more big-fight experience.
His headline fights against Mick Conlan, Mauricio Lara x2, and then obviously Warrington, along with his home crowd in Nottingham, will certainly play a factor in this fight, but to what degree? That, we are unsure of.
So how does the fight play out then?
Well, one thing is for certain: Cacace is going to put it on Wood early on. Ring rust is REAL, and it’s going to take Wood at least a few rounds to properly get going. So, if Cacace can upset his rhythm early on and frustrate the hometown hero and create openings, we could be looking at a potential stoppage early on in the fight.
However, with pressure comes risks, and as we’ve seen on countless occasions, Leigh Wood has the one-punch power to switch anyone’s lights off, and Cacace will be more than wary of that.
The Northern Irishman’s keys to victory are simple. Keep the pressure on, keep the fight on the inside, and work Wood’s body as much as you can.
For Wood, he needs to keep it long. Stay out of danger early on, work your way into the fight, and look to take over in the second half of the contest.
It’s a fight that really could go either way, so don’t be surprised if we end up seeing a rematch down the line.
On the undercard, there are a few cracking domestic clashes.
Liam Davies looks to return to winning ways in another England vs Northern Ireland clash for the vacant IBF International Featherweight Title against Kurt Walker, whilst the undefeated light-heavyweight Ezra Taylor takes on Troy Jones in an intriguing encounter.
A debutant to watch out for on the card is the Australian Paris 2024 bronze medalist Charlie Senior, who’ll be hoping to get off to the perfect start in the paid ranks.
A solid card to follow up the madness that was last weekend.