Anthony Cacace successfully defended his IBO super featherweight title on enemy territory, as he stopped home favourite Leigh Wood in the ninth round of their meeting at the Motorpoint Arena in Nottingham on Saturday.
Cacace (24-1, 9 KOs) had previously reigned as IBF champion, but relinquished the belt to face Josh Warrington, who he beat on points last September. Wood (28-4, 17 KOs) also faced Warrington in his last outing, stopping the Yorkshireman in seven in October 2023, but injuries had kept the Gedling man away from the ring ever since.
Cacace landed with a right hand in the opener, as both fought at a frenetic pace, and the second saw Wood catch the Belfast man with a right hand, much to the delight of the crowd.
The champion began to assert, with right hands connecting for Cacace in rounds three and four, and his left found a home in the fifth.
The 36-year-old was growing in confidence, with a jab rocking Wood back in round six, but the challenger had a solid seventh, as he walked Cacace down in a show of defiance.
The former WBA featherweight titlist also enjoyed a decent eighth, landing to head and body, but this was to be as good as it got, as Cacace connected with a left hook in the ninth that wobbled him, and he then went to work.
After an unanswered salvo, with only the ropes holding Wood up, a knockdown was counted.
The 36-year-old survived the count, but Cacace pressed the advantage, and a volley of punches rained in to force the referee to call a halt to the contest as the towel came in from Wood’s corner.
Davies defeats Walker
The vacant IBF Intercontinental featherweight title went home with Liam Davies, as he took a clear points win against Kurt Walker (12-1, 2 KOs).
Davies (17-1, 8 KOs) claimed a unanimous decision victory by scores of 117-111, 116-112 and 115-113.
Taylor overcomes Jones
Ezra Taylor largely dominated his meeting with Troy Jones (12-1, 6 KOs), running out a unanimous decision winner in their light heavyweight contest.
Taylor (12-0, 8 KOs) won by scores of 100-90, 99-91 and 97-94 and is likely to face grudge rival Lewis Edmondson next.
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Cooper edges past Kongo
Owen Cooper (11-1, 4 KOs) was also a winner, and the welterweight triumphed by a slender score of 96-94 for the referee against Chris Kongo (17-3, 7 KOs).
Noakes sees off Balaz
The sole eight rounder came at super lightweight, where Sam Noakes (17-0, 15 KOs) moved up to super lightweight to stop Patrik Balaz in three rounds.
Balaz (13-5-1, 5 KOs) was down in the opening round, and was then counted out in round three after taking a knee due to a wrist injury.
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Remaining Undercard
In six round action, Nico Leivars (7-0-1, 1 KO) took a 60-55 win on the referee’s card against Darwing Martinez (8-31-2, 6 KOs) at featherweight, and heavyweight novice Lewis Williams (3-0, 1 KOs) won all six rounds against Viktar Chvarkou (5-24, 3 KOs).
Huey Malone (1-0) made a debut, and he won all six rounds against Jakub Laskowski (5-36-1, 3 KOs) in their super lightweight contest, and fellow first-timer Charlie Senior (1-0) dropped Cesar Ignacio Paredes (18-18-1, 5 KOs) on the way to a 59-54 win at featherweight.
In four rounders, Joe Cooper (4-0) took all four rounds against Dmitri Protkunas (8-20-1, 1 KO) at middleweight, and lightweight debutant Joe Tyers (1-0) secured a 39-37 verdict against Mario Valenzuela Portillo (8-8-2, 2 KOs).
Harris Akbar (1-0) opened his professional campaign with a 40-36 win against Octavian Gratii (8-83-4, 4 KOs) at super welterweight.
