Former two-weight world champion Carl Frampton has backed fellow Belfast fighter Anthony Cacace to take the next step in his “inspiring story” and knock out Josh Warrington at Wembley Stadium on Saturday night.
While his IBF super-featherweight title is not on the line, Cacace has the chance to issue another impressive statement on a big stage after dethroning Joe Cordina in Riyadh in May.
Frampton lost to Warrington in a featherweight world title fight in 2018 but is confident Cacace will not fall to the Yorkshireman on the undercard of Anthony Joshua and Daniel Dubois’ heavyweight title bout.
“Although he’s the older fighter, he’s definitely the fresher fighter,” Frampton said of Cacace.
“Josh Warrington has been in one or two too many hard fights, even the ones he’s won have been gruelling. That has an effect on you and takes something away from you.
“Anto’s riding the crest of a wave at the moment, he’s got the bit between his teeth and he’s flying. You can see it when you talk to him and you look into your eyes, he means what he’s saying.
“I think Anto wins by KO in the second half of the fight.”
A professional fighter since 2012, Cacace fought on the undercard of Frampton’s memorable world title win over Kiko Martinez in Belfast in 2014, but for years his big break eluded him.
But after beating Michael Magnesi to win the IBO super-featherweight title in September 2022, he earned a shot at Cordina after overcoming Damian Wrzesinski in Belfast.
And with the Andersonstown fighter having overwhelmed the Welshman on the undercard of Oleksandr Usyk and Tyson Fury’s heavyweight unification bout in Saudi Arabia, he now has the chance to light up another big bill against Warrington, who is making his debut at 130lb.
“It’s such an inspiring story, what Anto’s done,” added Frampton.
“A year ago, he was delivering Chinese [food] as a way to keep living and keep feeding his family. Boxing wasn’t paying much, he was having one fight a year for the last five years.
“It’s been really inspiring. If you’re waiting on that break and if it hasn’t come, just look at people like Anto Cacace.
“Going from what he was doing and not having a bean really not that long ago, [if he] beats Warrington, one more fight and he’s a millionaire. It’s an amazing story.”
Frampton says that while Cacace’s greatest asset is his punching power, keeping his emotions in check will be crucial to battling past Warrington, several of whose fights has featured head clashes including a 2021 bout with Mauricio Lara that ended in a technical draw after the Mexican suffered a cut above his eye.
“His temperament sometimes can be…he’s a hot-head,” Frampton said of Cacace.
“I hope he doesn’t see red. Josh Warrington, he gets away with it, but he bulls in with his head and Anto will get hit by Josh’s head on Saturday night whether he likes it or not.
“I hope he keeps his temperament, keeps his cool and doesn’t blow up.”
