Holy Trinty Show -Anthony Cacace praises Turf Lodge Team
It was Holy show, a Holy Trinity show that is!
Anthony Cacace claims his sensational IBF world title win couldn’t have been achieved without the people from his old amateur club -and when he heaps praise on the famous Belfast amateur boxing base, he isn’t just addressing the schooling he got there before turning over 12 years ago.
Ireland’s latest world champion is paying tribute to their direct contribution to his victory over Joe Cordina on the massive Fury-Usyk card in Saudi Arabia on Saturday.
The 34-year-old prepared for the fight at the Turf Lodge and was coached by Michael Hawkin’s snr and jnr for the career-defining clash.
Indeed, Michael Hawkin’s jnr has been managing the mercurial talent of late, and Cacace says, he wouldn’t have got the chance to fulfill his potential without his help.
“I have to give all the props to Michael Hawkins junior because he has done absolutely everything for me from start to finish. He took on a managerial role and did everything for me and I couldn’t have done it without him,” Cacace said.
“He belongs in this game and it was great to have his dad – and them all – on board, they gave me valuable knowledge and we had a good camp, a good gameplan and we all worked it down to a tee.”
“I have a good team around me and they were relaxing me. I’m not one to stay relaxed, I’m a panicker.
“The team I have around me kept me relaxed every time I brought it up they changed the subject and told me to shut up.”
There was a couple of time across a very unfortunate career that it seemed as if Cacace’s potential would never be fulfilled.
He went through 2020 without seeing action and fought just once in 2021, British and IBO title wins kept hope alive but a frustrated Cacace pondered retirement after each separate setback in recent years.
All he wanted was the chance and when it came, he showed exactly why Belfast always backed him.
“I think I could have done that 10 years ago. But the opportunity never arose and that’s just how life goes isn’t it,” he adds before suggesting he no has to be deemed the best super featherweight in the world. “I’ve beat supposedly the best 130lb fighter in the world. That makes the me the best 130lb-er in the world! I’m absolutely buzzing.
Reflecting on the fight, Cacace added: “I was there to beat him up and that’s exactly what I did I think. From the very first bell and that’s my honest opinion. From the first bell I thought: ‘I’ve got him’. In the stare-off he didn’t want any of it so I knew, I knew right away.
“I thought he was going to be quicker and he wasn’t. I was beating him to the jab and I was hurting him with every shot so I’m pleasantly surprised and now I’m more confident in my own ability.”
