MICHAEL Conlan has had his say on this Saturday’s Nottingham Arena headliner between Anthony Cacace and Leigh Wood. The Belfast man is in a better place than most to hold judgment on the outcome, given his experience with both men over the years.
At the same Nottingham venue, Conlan challenged Wood for the WBA featherweight title in 2022. Despite dropping the hometown favourite early and enjoying multiple rounds of success, Conlan faded down the stretch as Wood powered on to stop him in a dramatic 12th round.
Despite this experience of Wood’s prowess, Conlan knows the abilities the ‘Andytown Apache’ is bringing to the table on May 10, having boxed on the same circuits as Cacace and frequented the same gyms over the years.
“Anto is getting in there with proper momentum, proper activity and the belief of a champion. I believe Anto wins convincingly, possibly by stoppage because Anto also punches hard,” Conlan told Andy Watters of the Irish News.
Punching power, skills and fight momentum are all on Cacace’s side, argues Michael, who later challenged Luis Alberto Lopez for the IBF title after his Wood loss.
Leigh Wood has been extremely inactive since beating Josh Warrington in October 2023. Conlan thinks that the time period is far too long and Cacace’s greater activity and ring freshness will show out.
“When I fought Leigh Wood, I probably took bigger shots through the fight than the shot that finished me at the end. It was more exhaustion,” admitted Conlan, who sparred the reportedly heavy-handed Cacace in the build-up to that fight.
“I think they’re both equal in terms of their power. Then when it comes to skillset, Leigh’s not really that skilful but he’s tough and gritty and can dig down deep and he has great powers of recovery and determination.
“Sometimes the venue can play a part when the blood is boiling, but there’s no blood boiling around this fight so far. I think Anto goes in and gets the job done,” he told the Irish News.
