Matchroom’s reveal that Josh Warrington would challenge Anthony Cacace for the latter’s newly won IBF super featherweight title was perplexing for a number of reasons. Not only did Cacace have a standing order to face knockout artist Eduardo “Sugar” Nunez, Warrington was 1-3-1 in his previous five, unranked, and had yet to compete at 130.
For reasons known only to the turbulent waters of Darryl Peoples’ mind, the sanctioning body waited until today to announce that the belt won’t be on the line after all. It will, however, go vacant if Warrington (31-3, 8 KO) pulls the upset. If Cacace (22-1, 8 KO) wins, he’ll have until March 20th to face Nunez, who stayed busy a couple weeks back by battering Miguel Marriaga.
This really feels like the IBF trying to have its cake and eat it too, and while it sucks for Warrington that victory probably means a vacant title fight with Nunez instead of instant two-division glory, I don’t have much sympathy for Cacace’s no-win scenario. You want to sidestep your high-risk, low-reward mandatory, you gotta be ready to accept the consequences.
But hey, at least the IBO belt is still on the line.