IBO super featherweight champion Anthony Cacace (24-1, 9 KOs) used his technical superiority to crush former two-time WBA 126-lb champion Leigh Wood (28-4, 17 KOs) by a ninth-round TKO on Saturday night in their main event fight at the Motorpoint Arena in Nottingham, England.
In the ninth, Cacace turned up the heat on Wood, throwing nonstop punches that put Leigh in trouble. He fell into the ropes after being staggered by the barrage from Cacace. The referee John Lathan then stopped the action and gave Wood a standing eight count, which temporarily let him recover.
However, when the action resumed, Cacace teed off with a barrage of shots with two big head-snapping uppercuts that disoriented Wood, who was again in real trouble. He then staggered across the ring, trying to flee from Cacace’s attack.
Seeing their fighter in serious distress, Wood’s trainer, Ben Davison, threw in the towel to save him. Referee John Lathan then waved it off at 2:15 of the round. It was a good thing that Davison threw in the towel because Wood was not going to make it through another 15 seconds of action before being laid out.
Trainer’s Memory Lapse
“We said to Leigh, ‘Cacace is feeling it.’ It was more to cheer Leigh up. Let him know to bank a few rounds,” said Wood’s trainer Ben Davison to Ring Magazine, about what he told Leigh after the eighth round. “I thought he finished that round quite strong, if I remember correctly.”
Davison doesn’t remember correctly. Wood had been absolutely hammered by Cacace from pillar to post in the eighth round. After the end of the round, Leigh looked like a totally defeated fighter walking back to his corner after being pounded by Cacace.
“I thought he finished that round quite well. It was key for Leigh to get off to the body. Unfortunately, it didn’t go our way,” said Davinson.
You can say that again. It definitely didn’t go Wood’s way, and no, he was not doing well after the eighth round. How can Davison not remember the last round before disaster struck?
Cacace had dominated almost every round with his jab, switch-hitting, uppercuts, and inside game. The 19 months that Wood had been out of the ring left him sluggish and not sharp enough to deal with a skilled fighter like Cacace. Maybe if this were someone like Mauricio Lara and Josh Warrington, Wood would have still been able to get the victory, but not against Cacace. He was too good.
In hindsight, it was a mistake for Wood to take on a fighter like Cacace after a long layoff and his first fight in the super featherweight division. He should have taken one or two tune-ups to prepare for a fighter of this caliber. However, this fight was more about money for Wood than him pursuing an eventual title shot. He wasn’t going to turn down the payday opportunity.