IBF super-featherweight champion Anthony Cacace’s dream 2024 continued as he claimed a unanimous decision win over Josh Warrington in an absorbing contest at Wembley Stadium.
On Monday, the IBF confirmed the Northern Irishman’s world title would not be on the line because the sanctioning body did not recognise Warrington as a challenger due to his inactivity in the super-featherweight division.
Cacace’s belt would have been vacated had he lost but the Belfast-born fighter overcame a shaky start to beat the English two-time world featherweight champion and ensure he left Wembley with his reign intact.
The 35-year-old Cacace can now look forward to putting his title on the line against mandatory challenger Eduardo Nunez, while Warrington looked to signal his intent to retire at the end.
After his third defeat in a row, the 33-year-old laid down his gloves in the centre of the ring before posing for photos.
When Warrington beat Carl Frampton – another Belfast fighter and Cacace’s long-time friend – in December 2018, he lit up the Manchester Arena with a relentless, front-footed display which left his rival in deep trouble from the outset.
And while he again started off in impressive fashion here, landing a telling right uppercut in the second round, it wasn’t long before Cacace took control of the fight.
Four months ago when Cacace won the world title against Joe Cordina in Saudi Arabia, he went chasing the knockout from the first round. But here, he took his time to figure out Warrington before coming alive in the fourth round, hurting the Yorkshireman with a thunderous right hook, having already connected with a flurry of body shots.
Sensing a fading challenge from Warrington, Cacace again hurt his opponent with a strong left hook to the nose in the fifth.
From there, Warrington showed moments of the work-rate and resilience that have underpinned his decorated career, but in Cacace he found a sizeable super-featherweight whose punching power and ringcraft left the Leeds fighter with a mountain to climb in the closing rounds.
Knowing he needed something special in the final round, the risk-taking Warrington came flying out of his corner, but Cacace managed to keep his gallant efforts at a safe distance and the judges scored it 118-110, 117-111, 117-111 in the Belfast man’s favour.
While a bout with Mexican Nunez looms for Cacace, Warrington’s career could be over after failing to end his losing streak having stepped up from featherweight.
Buatsi outguns Hutchinson as Sheeraz claims European title
England’s Joshua Buatsi dropped Willy Hutchinson twice on the way to an impressive points win over his light-heavyweight rival.
The bout was full of action, as Hutchinson fought bravely despite being repeatedly wounded by his opponent’s precise shots.
Buatsi dropped the Scot in the sixth with a looping right hand and then again in the ninth with a perfectly-placed left hook to the body.
Despite two knockdowns and a point deduction for Hutchinson, the judges surprisingly returned a split decision, as the scorecards read 113-112 for Hutchinson and 117-108 and 115-110 for Buatsi.
The 31-year-old appeared bemused as the result was confirmed, but lifted his fist in the air as he was announced the winner and retained his position as the number contender to the WBO belt.
He improved his undefeated record to 19 fights, while Hutchinson slipped to just his second loss in 20 bouts.
It was a setback for the 26-year-old Hutchinson, but after rising twice from knockdowns, his stock will have risen even in defeat.
He pushed forward in the final two rounds, trying to produce a last-gasp knockout, but Buatsi was able to dance away from the most dangerous shots.
With victory, the Londoner put himself in contention to fight the winner of the forthcoming undisputed fight between Artur Beterbiev and Dmitry Bivol in October.
In the co-main event of the night, Hamzah Sheeraz stayed undefeated with an impressive second-round knockout of Tyler Denny to claim the European middleweight title.
The 25-year-old was too powerful for 33-year-old Denny, dropping him in the opening seconds before finishing the job in the second.
Sheeraz is now unbeaten in 21 fights and extended his knockout streak to 15 bouts.
