Welterweight Owen Cooper (11-1, 4 KOs) used a fast pace to outwork Chris Kongo (17-3, 7 KOs), winning a 10-round points decision. Cooper used activity to outwork the exhausted Kongo down the stretch. Referee Kevin Parker scored it 96-94 for Cooper.
Anthony Cacace and Leigh Wood will battle for relevance tonight in a 12-round super featherweight contest at the Motorpoint Arena in Nottingham, England. Cacace (23-1, 8 KOs) defends his IBO 130-lb title against the inactive and, some believe, ring-worn former two-time WBA 126-lb champion Wood (28-3, 17 KOs).
Tonight’s main card live on DAZN begins at 2 pm ET / 11 am PT. Ring walks for the main event are at approximately 5:30 pm ET / 2:30 pm PT.
Many fans believe Cacace, 36, is a one-hit wonder who pulled off an upset of Joe Cordina to win the IBF 130-lb title, then quickly vacated it when he was ordered to defend against the dangerous KO artist Eduardo ‘Sugar’ Nunez. Cacace treated his IBF title like a hot potato and couldn’t get rid of it quickly enough to take an easier fight against the war-torn vet Josh Warrington last September.
DAZN Fight Card
Tonight’s Main Card on DAZN at 2:00 PM
Anthony Cacace vs. Leigh Wood – Headliner
Ezra Taylor vs. Troy Jones – Co-main
Liam Davies vs. Kurt Walker
Owen Cooper vs. Chris Kongo
Sam Noakes vs. Patrik Balaz
Even if Cacace wins tonight, it’s difficult to see him beating any of the champions at 130. He had the ideal situation going up against a weak belt-holder, Cordina, last year. But there aren’t any flawed paper champions in the super featherweight division now for Cacace to prey upon. So, fighting at the domestic level might as good as it gets for the remainder of his career. The same applies to Wood. There aren’t any easy outs for him to pick up a belt at 130, like he’d done at 126 against Can Xu and Mauricio Lara.
It’s impossible to determine what Wood, 36, has left because he’s never fought any of the elite-level featherweights in his career. His former promoter, Eddie Hearn, turned him into a two-time champion without matching him against cutting-edge competition.
Hearn’s Matchmaking
Hearn did his job, keeping Wood away from the wolves at 126, like Rafael Espinoza and Raymond Ford, who would have likely had an easy meal of him. He steered Wood into two world titles without ever fighting anyone you can call a good fighter.
For example, Wood lost to fringe contender Mauricio Lara in their first fight. At the time, Lara was considered a ‘safe’ fight for Wood. He might have lost the rematch if Mauricio hadn’t come into the fight overweight after being rushed into the rematch.