Why did Anthony Cacace vacate IBF super featherweight title?

DAZN

6, May 25

Anthony Cacace returns to the ring this week for the first time since he defeated Josh Warrington over a dozen rounds at Wembley Stadium last September.

The Northern Irishman faces Leigh Wood, returning to the ring himself after a near-two-year absence following his own victory over The Leeds Warrior in 2023.

But there will be no major belt at stake after Cacace announced in January that he was vacating his IBF super-featherweight title and would not defend it this year.

So just why has the star given up one of the biggest prizes available in his division - and what does it mean for his next encounter? DAZN News has the answers.

When did Anthony Cacace win the IBF super featherweight title?

Anthony Cacace first challenged for the IBF super featherweight title in May 2024, facing then-unbeaten holder Joe Cordina in Riyadh beneath Tyson Fury and Oleksandr Usyk.

The star entered the contest as the underdog, against a foe who had twice claimed the crown and was looking to set up a potential unification dance of his own beyond their bout.

Instead, Cacace delivered one of the upsets of the night, securing an eighth-round stoppage to win the first major title of his career, having reigned as IBO champion too.

Why did Anthony Cacace vacate the IBF super featherweight title?

Having fought Warrington in September 2024 - and not defended the title after the IBF refused to sanction the latter as a challenger - Cacace vacated it four months later.

Speaking in January, the star revealed that it was to take bigger fights, mentioning Wood by name, rather than take on the IBF's mandatory challenger Eduardo 'Sugar' Nunez.

"I feel like it's a better decision to vacate for my future to create a legacy in this sport, and for my name to be remembered for big fights," he told BBC Sport Northern Ireland.

What titles has Leigh Wood held across his career?

Wood is a former featherweight world champion himself, having held variants of the WBA title between 2021 and 2023 across multiple reigns with the strap in hand.

He defeated Xu Can for the secondary Regular lineage and then retained it against Michael Conlan before a loss to Mauricio Lara in February 2023 left him empty-handed.

The star claimed revenge three months later in a points win to take the full WBA crown at featherweight, then defended it against Warrington that October before vacating.

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