Anto Cacace set for crucial 24 hours as title fights near

The next steps in Anto Cacace‘s career will be decided over a crucial period next month.

The 29-year-old Belfast super featherweight is in line for both a British title final eliminator and an EU title shot and the deadlines for purse bids for both will come within 24 hours of each other in November.

Italian champion Michael Magnesi [12(5)-0] is the man down to face Cacace in a vacant title fight and purse bids for this clash are due on Tuesday 13th. However, the Lazio 23-year-old has a national title defence set for November 10th versus Giuseppe Carafa so things may change if he suffers what would be an upset loss.

Spaniard Ruddy Encarnacion had been the man initially down to face Cacace in a vacant title fight but the veteran was defeated by Marco McCullough [21(11)-4(3)] in a topsy-turvy war in Belfast earlier this month. It had been hoped that McCullough may replace Encarnacion in the vacant title fight to allow an all-Belfast EU title clash but this has not come to pass.

On the British scene, the man now standing in the way of Cacace and a second shot at the Lonsdale belt following the withdrawal of Zelfa Barrett, is Scotland’s Jordan McCorry [17(4)-3(1)-1]. Purse bids for their clash, which is also a defence of Cacace’s BBBoC Celtic title, have been put back to November 14th.

The winner of a Cacace-McCorry bout will face the winner of champion Sam Bowen’s defence versus Ronnie Clark in December. However, Dundee’s Clark is a mandatory challenger, meaning the winner will be afforded a voluntary defence first – and delaying any Cacace title shot until next summer.

One route that looks to be, for now, closed off for Cacace [16(7)-1(0)] is the Commonwealth title. Champion, and fellow Belfast man, James Tennyson was unsuccessful in his world title tilt at the weekend and therefore retains the 130lbs rainbow belt ahead of his comeback in the new year..

Manager Pat Magee said that “we will have a much clearer picture where Anthony goes next month. We will see what happens.

Andersonstown’s Cacace is currently training with Belfast-based Panamanian Bernardo Checa in what has been a frustrating 2018 so far. ‘The Apache’ last fought in December, scoring a win over journeyman Reynaldo Mora in his first fight back from his British and Commonwealth title loss to Martin J Ward.