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Opponent confirmed for Anto Cacace’s fight on DeGale-Eubank PPV undercard


Anthony Cacace [16(7)-1(0)] will look to move into the world rankings of one of the four major governing bodies next weekend.

The Belfast super featherweight features on the undercard of the James DeGale v Chris Eubank PPV at the O2 Arena in London on Saturday February 23rd, live on ITV Box Office.

Cacace has finally had an opponent confirmed for the Richard Poxon and Al Haymon fight night and will face South American featherweight champion Alan Castillo [26(10)-7(2)] in a ten-round contest for a rankings belt which will be confirmed shortly.

The Argentine has won and defended the continental belt twice having moved up from super bantam in 2017 following a points defeat to contender Diego De La Hoya. Previous to this, ‘El Lumbriz’ was involved in no fewer than seven rankings title fights, winning three and losing four.

The Cordoba 27-year-old has been confirmed following a period of difficulty in sourcing an opponent for Cacace, with manager Pat Magee noting that potential foes were quoting unrealistic fees.

The Belfast fight boss also informed Irish-Boxing.com that a move up to lightweight was considered for Cacace, and what would have been a shocking fight with Olympic gold medallist and world title challenger Luke Campbell was explored, but he will remain at super featherweight for now.

Under the Poxon and Haymon banner, it is hoped that Cacace will fight anywhere up to four times this year and, with the new ITV boxing platform in need of stars, it is hoped that ‘The Apache’ will be built into headline material – perhaps even in Belfast.

Cacace’s bout next weekend will feature as part of the pay-per-view portion of the bill, opening the televised broadcast.

It’s encouraging news for the 30-year-old who did not fight at all during 2018, seeing British, Commonwealth, and EU avenues closed off.

Now training with Sean McCullagh alongside Divis lightweight Joe Fitzpatrick, Cacace has been in camp since before Christmas ahead of a make-or-break year.

Should Cacace defeat Castillo and claim a Top 15 spot, it is intended for the Andersonstown stylist to face a fellow ranked fighter in April and build towards a clash with any of WBO titlist Masayuki Ito, WBC holder Miguel Berchelt, WBA champions (don’t ask) Gervonta Davis and Andrew Cancio, or the winner of Tevin Farmer’s March 15th IBF defence versus Dubliner Jono Carroll

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Joe O'Neill

Reporting on Irish boxing the past five years. Work has appeared on irish-boxing.com, Boxing News, the42.ie, and local and national media. Provide live ringside updates, occasional interviews, and special features on the future of Irish boxing. email: joneill6@tcd.ie

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