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Anthony Cacace stopped Leigh Wood in the ninth round to retain his IBO Junior Lightweight Title.
Cacace sought to press the action from the off, while Wood stayed outside with his lateral movement. The champion buzzed Wood near the end of the first in some danger signs for the challenger. Wood found his composure by establishing his jab from rounds two and three. However, Cacace grew in confidence as he landed an uppercut and right hand to buzz Wood.
Wood had moved up from featherweight and was fighting for the first time since 2023, as the power difference was noticeable. Wood tried to get his shots off on the inside in the fourth, but Cacace was unfazed. The latter continued to march forward behind his jab and landed a sharp one-two in the fifth.
In the sixth round, Cacace landed on Wood much more easily as his defense was exposed. Wood had blood pouring from his face, as the writing was on the wall. Cacace dropped Wood with a left hook in the ninth. Wood was backed up on the ropes as the count started. While Wood tried to carry on, his trainer, Ben Davison, threw in the towel. The win extended Cacace’s record to 24-1, while Wood moved to 28-4.
Cacace Triumphs
Post-Fight
“I took this fight solely for money. The money was double. Show me the money, I will travel anywhere. My time is now. Show me the money, it’ll have to be better than tonight,” Cacace said
“I don’t want to make any excuses, I promised I wouldn’t. It was hard tonight, maybe harder than usual, maybe it was the lay-off, I don’t know. He’s a really good fighter and hopefully he goes on a good run. I don’t know, I’m not going to make a decision on the spot. We’ll see. We’ll have a talk. I want to thank everyone for coming out tonight, thanks for bringing the noise and sorry to disappoint,” Wood stated
Full Card
IBO Super Featherweight Title: Anthony Cacace beat Leigh Wood via 9th round TKO
Light Heavyweight: Ezra Taylor beat Troy Jones by unanimous decision (97-94, 100-90, 99-91)
Featherweight: Liam Davies beat Kurt Walker by unanimous decision (117-111, 115-113, 116-112
Welterweight: Owen Cooper beat Chris Kongo on points (96-94)
Super Lightweight: Sam Noakes beat Patrik Balaz by 3rd-round knockout
Heavyweight: Lewis Williams won on points against Viktar Chvarkou (60-54)
Super Featherweight: Charlie Senior beat Cesar Ignacio Paredes on points (59-54)
Super Welterweight: Harris Akbar beat Octavian Gratii on points (40-36)
Middleweight: Joe Cooper beat Dmitri Protkunas on points (40-36)
Featherweight: Nico Leivars beat Darwing Martinez on points (60-55)
Super Lightweight: Huey Malone beat Jakub Laskowski on points (60-54)
Lightweight: Joe Tyers beat Mario Portillo on points (39-37)
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