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Anto Cacace suffers delay to British title shot but could feature on MASSIVE bill


Anto Cacace [17(7)-1(0)] will no longer fight for the British title next month but it looks set to be a small delay and one which will provide him with home advantage.

The Belfast super featherweight has been ordered to take on Carl Greaves and Frank Warren’s champion Sam Bowen and it was widely believed and reported to take place in London on Saturday July 7th.

Bowen-Cacace was targeted for the undercard of the Daniel Dubois v Nathan Gorman and Joe Joyce v Bryant Jennings heavyweight double-header at the O2 Arena, live on BT Sport.

However, this no longer seems to be the case and leading Belfast fight scribe David Mohan has reported that the match-up is set to land on the massive Mick Conlan v Vladimir Nikitin fight card at the Falls Park on Saturday August 3rd.

The change would mean Cacace challenges for the Lonsdale belt – and Bowen’s WBO Inter-Continental rankings title – just a short distance from his Andersonstown home.

The outdoor Top Rank occasion is part of the Féile an Phobail and will be shown live on ESPN+ in America. British and Irish TV details are yet to be confirmed, with a number of parties interested, but the addition of Bowen-Cacace has lead some to suggest that BT Sport, who are aligned to Warren who himself works closely with Top Rank, have become the leading contender.

No other undercard bouts have been announced thus far but a WBO super bantamweight title defence from Mexican champ Emanuel Navarrete versus Derry’s Tyrone McCullagh has been explored while Padraig McCrory has hinted that he will have a major fight on the card.

If the clash is confirmed for Cacace it would be a major boost following a frustrating period since his narrow defeat to Martin J Ward in his first British title challenge back in July 2017.

A barren 2018 gave way to a breakthrough of sorts in February when the 30-year-old defeated South American featherweight champion Alan Castillo to claim a WBA ranking.

Now at #13 with the body, Cacace takes on WBO #7 Bowen [15(11)-0] – who most recently defended his British title in March with a stoppage of Scot Jordan McCorry.

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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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