Anthony Cacace vs Leigh Wood: Michael Conlan Weighs In on Who Wins

Anthony Cacace vs Leigh Wood headlines a Queensberry Promotions card at the Motorpoint Arena in Nottingham on May 10. The super featherweight clash will be for the IBO title and will be broadcast live on DAZN. Conlan, who previously faced Wood, has weighed in with his prediction for the Cacace-Wood matchup when speaking to Andy Watters of The Irish Times.

Anthony Cacace vs Leigh Wood: Conlan’s Prediction

Conlan Backs His Pick for Super Featherweight Clash on May 10

Cacace-Wood should provide plenty of fireworks, with both known to punch with power. They both like to come forward and meet in the middle of the ring. This fight should catch fire early. Wood hasn’t fought since his come-from-behind win in 2023 against Josh Warrington.

Cacace has been active and enjoyed a breakout 2024, with his shock win over Joe Cordina to win the IBF crown, which he has now chosen to vacate. He followed that up with a comfortable points decision victory over Josh Warrington.

Conlan has also sparred with Cacace in preparation for the Wood bout. Talking about the ability of Belfast native: “Anto is skilful, he can punch, he can fight when he needs to fight and he can box when he needs to box,” said Conlan. 

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Discussing the importance of activity, he said: “Leigh Wood has been out of the ring longer than I was. I was 16 months out and he’s 20 months out of the ring.

“When he fought me (March 2022), he didn’t fight for a year after that, which was an awful long time. He fought Mauricio Lara in early May the following year and they rematched quite quickly and then he fought Josh Warrington (October 2023) all in the same year.

“He was active that year, but he’s been very inactive since, he hasn’t fought since he beat Warrington. That’s an awful long time, it’s nearly two years to the ring.

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“Anto is getting in there with proper momentum, proper activity and the belief of a champion.”

Revealing his pick for May 10, Conlan said: “I believe Anto wins convincingly, possibly by stoppage because Anto also punches hard. They both punch hard, yes, but I think Anto’s skillset is better. I think he’s the better boxer out of the both of them.”

Anthony Cacace vs Leigh Wood Full Fight Card

• Anthony Cacace vs. Leigh Wood, 12 rounds, super featherweights
• Ezra Taylor vs. Troy Jones, 10 rounds, light heavyweights
• Liam Davies vs. Kurt Walker, 12 rounds, featherweights
• Owen Cooper vs. Chris Kongo, 10 rounds, welterweights
• Sam Noakes vs. Patrik Balaz, 8 rounds, super lightweights
• Lewis Williams vs. Viktar Chvarkou, 6 rounds, heavyweights
• Huey Malone vs. Jakub Laskowski, 6 rounds, super lightweights
• Charlie Senior vs. Cesar Ignacio Paredes, 6 rounds, featherweights
• Nico Leivars vs. Darwing Martinez, 6 rounds, featherweights
• Joe Cooper vs. Dmitri Protkunas, 4 rounds, middleweights
• Harris Akbar vs. Remi Scholer, 4 rounds, junior middleweights
• Joe Tyers vs. Mario Valenzuela Portillo, 4 rounds, lightweights

Stay with Big Fight Weekend for coverage of Anthony Cacace vs Leigh Wood, including results and video highlights, and post-fight analysis.