Magee wins purse bids for Anto Cacace British title fight

Anto Cacace [15(7)-0] and his team will be in control for his British super featherweight title clash this Summer.

The Belfast boxer, mandatory challenger to the belt, must fight current champion Martin J Ward [17(8)-0-2] by the end of June, and purse bids for this clash were due yesterday.

Irish-Boxing.com can confirm that Cacace’s promoter Pat Magee outbid Eddie Hearn’s Matchroom and now holds control over the event.

Magee will make a formal announcement regarding the logistics of the fight within the next two weeks, but the veteran Belfast promoter is planning a June date in either London or, preferably, Belfast.

It is the light at the end of a long tunnel for Cacace who has had a frustrating time since knocking out Ronnie Clark back in October 2015 to win the Celtic title. Since then the Andersonstown southpaw has split with Cyclone and joined up with Magee, but confusion surrounding the mandatory challenger spot saw his British title hopes delayed for months on end.

For Ward, the bout presents an opportunity to claim the Lonsdale belt outright following his title-winning display against Andy Townend and successful defences against Ronnie Clark and Maxi Hughes.