Josh Warrington will have the chance to dethrone a reigning titleholder.
He just won’t have the chance to leave the ring with the belt.
The Ring has confirmed that Anthony Cacace’s IBF 130-pound title will not be at stake in his fight versus Warrington this weekend. Their fight will move forward but as a non-title fight, per a ruling from the sanctioning body. Cacace-Warrington is part of this Saturday’s Riyadh Season: Wembley Edition show at Wembley Stadium in London.
As previously reported by The Ring on June 26, sanctioning was never secured at the time the fight was announced. Cacace (22-1, 8 knockouts) was already due to face mandatory challenger Eduardo “Sugar” Nunez (28-1, 278 KOs). However, the show’s plans called for all-UK matchups.
Leeds’ Warrington (31-3-1, 8 KOs) has not won a fight since March 2022, nor has he campaigned at junior lightweight. As only boxing can, he was viewed as the perfect candidate to face Cacace simply because he speaks The King’s English.
The fight was never blessed by the IBF. Cacace was only approved to enter an optional fight after Nunez’s team agreed to the scenario.
That concession is conditional, however.
“The IBF, with the consent of Eduardo Nunez, has agreed to participate in an optional bout against Josh Warrington,” an IBF spokesperson confirmed to The Ring. “Not a defense of the IBF Jr. Lightweight title.”
Cacace will be stripped of the title should he lose versus Warrington this weekend. If the Belfast native wins, he will then have to honor his previously ordered fight versus Nunez by no later than next March 20.
Furthermore, Cacace cannot ask for an exception. This means his side cannot entertain the idea of a title unification bout, although no such fights have come to surface.
Both fighters must agree in writing to the IBF’s terms, or Cacace’s reign will end the moment the opening bell sounds this weekend.
A similar status was presented to RING cruiserweight champion Jai Opetaia, who had to vacate his IBF title last December. The unbeaten 200-pound king ignored an ordered rematch with Mairis Briedis and instead faced unranked Ellis Zorro. The IBF refused to sanction the fight, which led to Opetaia relinquishing the title.
Opetaia stopped Zorro in the first round of a Dec. 23 bout in Riyadh. He returned to the city to regain his title in a May 18 decision win over Briedis.
The same show saw Cacace win the IBF 130-pound title in an upset eighth-round knockout of unbeaten Joe Cordina (15-1, 9 KOs). A negotiation period was ordered soon thereafter to face Nunez, who knocked out former titlist Shavkat Rakhimov in a Feb. 16 title eliminator in Tajikistan.
Cacace and Nunez failed to come to terms, though three separate purse bid hearings were canceled. The June 26 announcement was followed by confirmation that Nunez would take a stay busy fight. He knocked out Miguel Marriaga on Aug. 31 in Carson, California to preserve his place in line.
Warrington’s last win came in a seventh-round stoppage of Kiko Martinez to regain the IBF featherweight title. He lost the belt in a Dec. 2022 twelve-round decision to Luis Alberto Lopez (30-3. 17 KOs). Ten months later, Warrington was ahead prior to his seventh-round knockout loss versus WBA featherweight title Leigh Wood last Oct. 7 in his most recent fight.
Cacace-Warrington is one of six fights on the UK debut of Riyadh Season. The show will air live on DAZN Pay-Per-View. IBF heavyweight titlist Daniel Dubois (21-2, 20 KOs) attempts his first defense versus former two-time unified titleholder Anthony Joshua (28-3, 25 KOs) in the main event. A venue record crowd of more than 96,000 is expected.
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The post Anthony Cacace-Josh Warrington Moves Forward As Non-Title Fight appeared first on The Ring.
