British super-featherweight champion Anthony Cacace says he will relinquish his title should he beat Lyon Woodstock next month.
Cacace and Woodstock clash on February 27 on the undercard of Carl Frampton’s attempt to become Ireland’s first ever three-weight world champion when ‘The Jackal’ meets WBO super-featherweight title holder Jamel Herring.
The last time we saw Cacace, 31, in the ring was 14 months ago when he seized the British title from Sam Bowen in a heavy-handed, entertaining affair. Cacace (18-1, 7 KOs) wants the fight against Woodstock to be his first and last title defence so he can move on to the world scene.
The 130lbs world scene hots up next month when Joseph Diaz defends his IBF title against Shavkatdzhon Rakhimov on February 13 before Miguel Berchelt puts his WBC version on the line against fellow Mexican Oscar Valdez seven days later. Herring and Frampton round off an important month for the division.
“I’d have a crack at any of them,” Cacace told Boxing Social. “By the time I get in the ring against Lyon Woodstock I’ll be 32 so it’s all going to have to start happening soon or it’s not really looking realistic.”
Cacace insists though that, despite being the wrong side of 30, he is fresher than ever.
“It’s not like I’ve taken too many shots or boiled myself down to the weight too many times,” he said.
Cacace-Woodstock could have taken place last summer, had it not been for the horrific sounding dental issues the champion had suffered.
“The first time when the fight was announced I had got teeth removed,” explained Cacace. “I got both my back teeth on both sides removed and I ended up getting a gum infection and the infection was terrible. It was a nightmare, but I kept on going. I couldn’t spar, I couldn’t get hit in the face because the pain was excruciating. It had been bothering me for a long time. Before I fought Sam [Bowen] for the British title it was at its worst. That [fight] was a bit of a gamble.
“It was a bad couple of months. It wasn’t even the teeth that were so bad it was the infection that came after it. The dentist said it was the worst infection he has ever seen. I knew there was something wrong before the Bowen fight, but it was an opportunity that I was never going to give up. While I got them out my face was double the size. It was just unlucky. I’m just delighted it’s over and done with and I can crack on.”
Cacace revealed that he has a fear of dentists, as so many of us do, that dates back to his childhood.
“I actually hate the dentist. That’s probably a reason it ended up the way it did,” he laughed. “When I was younger, I had to go to the dentist to get a tooth removed but it was wedged in and I could feel everything they were doing even though they numbed me, but it wouldn’t come out. There’s nothing worse than tooth pain. I’ve had lots of things happen to me but I’m telling you when it’s in the mouth it’s excruciating pain.”
So, he would rather take a punch in the face than have dental pain?
“Absolutely!” he answered. “Not even a question about it. When I had that infection, I don’t think I slept well for about three months. It was a nightmare.”
The Belfast man’s career has been a bit of a nightmare because of its stop-start nature. Nineteen fights in nine years can testify to that alone. Signing with Frank Warren in March 2020 should have ignited his career under the Queensberry Promotions banner, but Covid-19 and its lockdowns wiped out the momentum Cacace got after beating Bowen in what he describes as the hardest fight of his professional career.
“I found it difficult,” Cacace said when looking back on a year and a world turned upside down by the Coronavirus.
“We had a new-born baby. It was difficult staying in all the time and it was the uncertainty of everything. Everyone was in panic. I did struggle a bit with it. It stopped a lot of things which was the main struggle. There was a point when I couldn’t even go to the gym because the gym had shut down. It was a difficult year and I’m sure it was a difficult year for everybody not just in boxing but everywhere. I’m just hoping things start to get better everywhere.”
Things will be looking better should he successfully defend his British title next month. And, while he has decided to vacate the belt upon victory, his eyes are razor focused on the threat Woodstock (12-2, 5 KOs) brings. The 27-year-old challenger from Leicester has already mixed it at a high domestic level in fights against Archie Sharp and Zelfa Barrett. He lost on points each time but Cacace says Woodstock gave a good account of himself on both occasions.
“I’m not going in there thinking I’m going to do better than the other two lads,” he said. “I would like to make a statement, but I really don’t mind [how I win]. I just want the win. I don’t think Lyon has been hit as hard as I am going to hit him. We’re going to have to see about this and see how he takes it. Once I hit him, if he keeps coming forward then fair play. Sam Bowen is one of the hardest men there is. He took some shots. I’ve hit people with less and knocked them out or stunned them and he just kept coming.”
Cacace hopes that the bout against Woodstock will eventually be confirmed as the chief support to Frampton’s historic fight. He grew up with Frampton on the Irish amateur scene and has been sparring the former two-weight world champion in preparation for Herring.
“He’s looking top class,” he said. “He’s switched on. He knows what he has to do. I think if you’re looking at Herring’s last fight [against Jonathan Oquendo] it doesn’t say a lot for him. I read a couple of articles saying he may retire after this fight. I just don’t think that’s a good attitude to be going in with against a top-class fighter like Carl. I think Carl Frampton knocks him out. That’s a big shout. I grew up with Carl on the Irish team. He’s [got] nothing to learn. He knows what he has to do and he knows what he has to deploy so I think he’ll go in with a level head. And, if he does go in with a level head knowing what he has to do, he will do it 100%. I’m hoping anyway because I’m buzzing for him. I’ll be cheering him on.”
Wins for Cacace and Frampton would mark a perfect night for Irish boxing next month. Cacace though is planning on returning to his father’s family roots of Naples as soon as he can amidst the Covid-19 restrictions. Cacace has Irish and Italian blood, perhaps then destined to be nothing else but a fighter!
“I’ve done nothing else my whole life. I’ve been doing this since I was 11 years of age. It’s second nature to me. It’s all I am is a fighter. When it comes to the likes of work, I have no interest. I want to do what I can do in boxing. I don’t jump the gun ever. I don’t like to say or predict things. I just like to get things done.”
Most of Cacace’s family, his grandfather, grandmother and cousins are in Italy with little family in Northern Ireland other than his immediate kin. He is proud of his Italian roots and loves Naples, a place he has travelled to a few times, just don’t ask him to speak the language.
“In my house I think I’m the dunce of the house! I just didn’t pick it up. My family used the Italian language against me! They’d be speaking away in Italian and I couldn’t understand a word they were saying.”
The celebrations for Cacace may come in a couple of languages next month but so long as he wins that’s all that matters.
“I’ll tell you one thing, I won’t have to go looking for Lyon.”
A potentially memorable night awaits us.