Let’s begin this preview and predictions article by taking a hop, skip, and a jump across the pond to Nottingham, England. Leigh Wood challenges Anthony Cacace in a 12-round dust-up. Currently riding an 8-fight win streak, Cacace is coming off two solid victories by stopping Joe Cordina last May and defeating Josh Warrington on September 21st. Having taken an early decision loss to Martin J Ward and beating Michael Magnesi via split-decision, many experts didn’t expect Anthony to be where he is today. With just seven knockouts heading into his bout with Cordina, he shocked the world, retiring Joe in the 8th round.
His opponent, Leigh Wood, has experienced the extreme highs and lows in the sport of boxing. In two of Wood’s three losses, he was stopped. After losing to James Dickens via majority decision, Leigh strung together three straight knockouts. Only to get TKO’d by Mauricio Lara, to his credit, Wood followed that up by winning on points in the rematch. In his last outing, Wood took out Josh Warrington in the seventh round. As the saying goes, “styles make fights” and this should be a great scrap on DAZN this Saturday. Who will win the battle of a southpaw in Cacace and an orthodox fighter in Wood?
Look for Anthony to use his natural reach advantage, establishing range and setting up counter punches. This will be the first southpaw Leigh has faced since losing to Dickens. Wood has the home crowd in his favor, but will that be enough to push him over the top? Leigh has shown he is able to recover from a rocky start. At the same time, he’s also shown serious defensive liabilities. Cacace is capable of fighting on the inside and outside, making him a more well-rounded boxer.
The fact that Leigh Wood has fought since the fall of 2023 is a bit troubling, along with his hinting at retirement. Wood must avoid a slow start, so he won’t be forced to take unwarranted risks down the stretch. This will be a fight that features plenty of two-way traffic. This boxing podcaster favors the sharper boxer who’s been more active of late and has a variety of paths to victory. A long layoff increases the chance for a stoppage, and let’s face it, either man can lose that way. Betting-wise, Wood is around +150 to +175, which has value. By decision, you can find Cacace +137 and by KO +218. Wood by KO +350 and by Decision +460. Cacace +137 by decision sounds about right, and you can back it up with a smaller bet on KO if you so choose.
My Official Prediction is Anthony Cacace by majority decision.
Although Emmanuel Navarette is headlining an ESPN card facing Charly Suarez, Raymond Muratalla takes on Zaur Abdullaev in the co-main event. Raymond won on a close decision over the rejuvenated Tevin Farmer last July. Not all that long ago, Muratalla was considered a real threat at lightweight and desperately needed a convincing win over Abdullaev. Will find out if Muratalla can impress on ESPN this Saturday night in the States. If not, he will be stuck in neutral as a solid but not serious contender at 135. (And yes, I realize this is for an interim strap)
My Official Predictions are Muratalla by decision and Navarette by TKO.
ProBoxTv returns with Erickson Lubin versus Andreal Holmes in the main event. Andreal is a solid boxer who has the skills to win rounds. The problem for Holmes is a lack of power, scoring just 6 knockouts in 17 wins. Andreal has been 10 rounds four different times against decent opposition. Clearly, Lubin has the experience fighting a higher caliber of opponent, win or lose. Lubin’s last bout came in a 12-round debatable victory over Jesus Ramos. Erickson’s chin should hold up fine but one must wonder if a 19-month layoff will cost him some early rounds. Once the rust comes off, let’s see if Lubin can find his timing, likely looking to throw a crispy jab to set up a knockout punch.
My Official Prediction is Erickson Lubin by Unanimous Decision.
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Side Note: Keep an eye out for Fernando Martinez in a rematch with Kazuto Ioka which is worth a watch, but Martinez should win cleanly again. Also, interesting is a Cissokho vs. Kavaliauskas matchup along with a Red Owl Event on DAZN this weekend.
Written by Chris Carlson, Host/Producer of The Rope A Dope Radio Podcast on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Spreaker, I-Heart Radio, Amazon Podcasts, Google Podcasts & More! Follow on Twitter @RopeADopeRadio