West Belfast’s Anthony Cacace will take on Leigh Wood in a blockbuster super-featherweight showdown on May 10.
The clash at the Motorpoint Arena in Nottingham sees two former world champions lock horns, with 36-year-old Cacace facing Wood in the latter’s home town and looking to successfully defend his IBO World Super-Featherweight crown.
The Andersonstown native, who clinched the IBF World title with a stunning upset victory over Joe Cordina in Saudi Arabia in May 2024, had been due to face mandatory challenger for that belt Eduardo ‘Sugar’ Nunez but vacated his title in January in pursuit of more lucrative fights, with Wood at that point mooted as a potential opponent.
Wood previously halted fellow Belfast man Michael Conlan in March 2022 in a WBA Featherweight title encounter and will pose stern opposition for Cacace, although the Englishman has not boxed since mounting a successful featherweight defence with a knock-out victory over Josh Warrington in October 2023.
Cacace’s last bout also came against Warrington, defeating the Leeds man in a non-title fight by unanimous decision at Wembley Stadium in September, coming as part of a dream 2024 for ‘Apache’ which he will hope to build on by recording an eye-catching victory over Wood.