Anthony Cacace is set to vacate his IBF super featherweight title to fight Leigh Wood. The IBF belt will become vacant for No. 1 Eduardo ‘Sugar’ Nunez (27-1, 27 KO) and No. 3 Masanori Rikiish (16-1, 11 KO) to fight for it.
It makes sense that the 35-year-old Cacace (23-1, 8 KOs) would give up the IBF title to face former two-time WBA featherweight champion Leigh Wood (28-3, 17 KOs) because it’s a fight that will be paying. good for Anthony.
Is it Nunez’s time to shine?
Eduardo ‘Sugar’ Nunez has looked impressive, knocking out his last 17 opponents since his only career loss to Hiram Gallardo via six-round unanimous decision in June 20018. In Nunez’s last four fights, he has knocked out Miguel Marriaga, Oscar Escandon, Jesus Martin Ceyca and Willmank Canonico Brito.
It’s difficult to know how much of a professional Rikiish, 30, is with eight years of experience, as he has fought mostly unknown opponents throughout his career in his native Japan. He lost once as a professional, but he fought quietly against opposition most fans had never heard of. This is not a good sign.
Slim chance of success
13-year-old professional Cacace’s chances of success against “Sugar” Nunez would have been minimal due to the Mexican fighter’s power, youth and aggressiveness. It wouldn’t have been a big win for Cacace to face Nunez, and the outcome probably would have been bad for him.
Last year, Cacace defeated IBF 130-pound champion Joe Cordina, destroying him in eight rounds on May 18 in Riyadh. The fight wasn’t even close, as Cacace was too fast and too busy for the exhausted Cordina in this contest. Cacace dropped Cordina in the third round, and he seemed to never recover.
In Cacace’s last fight, he defeated former featherweight champion Josh Warrington by 12-round unanimous decision on September 21 on the Anthony Joshua vs. Daniel Dubois undercard at Wembley Stadium in London.
I watched the fight, and it looked like Cacace took matters into his own hands with Warrington, staying in second gear for the entire fight and not giving him the same brutal treatment as Cordina did in their previous fight. If that was the case of the game, it was a nice gesture from Cacace as Warrington looked completely dejected. He would have folded like a cheap suit if Cacace had pushed him around like he had Cordina all night.
“With the expectation that Anthony Cacace gives up his IBF belt to fight former champion Leigh Wood, the super featherweight belt should be determined by a fight between top-ranked Eduardo Nunez and Japanese No. 3 Masanori Rikiishi, m’ it was said, “said Lance Pugmire on X.