Promoter Eddie Hearn is stomping mad after learning that Anthony Cacace will vacate his IBF super featherweight title rather than defending it against his mandatory, Eduardo ‘Sugar’ Nunez.
Hearn promoted Nunez (27-1, 27 KOs) and wanted to see him get the opportunity to take the IBF belt off of the 35-year-old Cacace (23-1, 8 KOs). It obviously would have been a mismatch because Cacace is not built to brawl with a fighter like ‘Sugar’ Nunez, and he wouldn’t have been able to run his way to victory like some fighters.
Cacace plans to fight former WBA featherweight champion Leigh Wood (28-3, 17 KOs) in a match that will do good business in the UK. The 36-year-old Wood hasn’t fought in two years but is still popular. A match between the Nottingham-born Wood and the Irish fighter Cacace will create interest in the UK, and DAZN will surely show it.
Like many UK fights, fans outside of the UK won’t see it as a watchable fight, but there will be enough Britis that tune in to make it worthwhile for DAZN to stream it.
“Sickening,” Says Hearn
“It’s sickening. Really, he vacated the belt about three months ago,” said Eddie Hearn to Secondsout, reacting to the news of Anthony Cacace announcing he’s vacating his IBF super featherweight title.
“I’m so pissed off that they’ve messed ‘Sugar’ Nunez around. I’ve goaded a little bit for waiting a little bit longer. I like Anthony Cacace. I think he’s a great fighter, but the reality is, he’s completely ducked the granny out of ‘Sugar’ Nunez. He beat [former IBF 130-lb champion] Joe Cordina [on May 18, 2024, by eighth-round knockout], and he’s never defended his world title.
“When you become a world champion, which is a lifelong dream, you’ve got to try and defend it, unify it, and try and become one of the best fighters in the division. He’s basically won it and never defended it, and now he’s vacating it because he’s afraid to fight ‘Sugar’ Nunez in Belfast.”
You can’t blame Cacace for not fighting Nunez because he wouldn’t have won, and it would have been a bad knockout for him. He’s better off fighting Wood to make some coin and run the old-timers circuit against other older Brits.
“So, of course, from my side, it’s very, very disappointing,” said Hearn. “It’s not what boxing is about, and I get, ‘Oh, I’ve got to look for the best opportunities for me.’ He’s fighting Leigh Wood, and the money is not all that different from what he was offered for the Nunez fight.
“I know that, and I’m really pissed off that they took so long because they f**** around ‘Sugar’ Nunez’s career. We’ll go win a world title now, but it didn’t have to be like that,” said Hearn.
It would have been better if Cacace had vacated his IBF title last year rather than holding it hostage while he took a non-title fight against the washed-up Josh Warrington on September 21st.
“I only want the biggest fights possible, regardless of the belt on the line,” said Cacace on X.
“I’m a prizefighter and my aim now is to secure mine and my family’s future and to create a legacy for myself in boxing by being involved in massive fights that fans will remember. Look forward to announcing my next fight soon. Watch this space,” said Cacace.
