THE big opportunity that Anthony Cacace (21-1, 7KOs) craved has finally arrived as it is confirmed he will take on IBF super-featherweight champion Joe Cordina on February 17 in Saudi Arabia.
West Belfast's 'Apache' will challenge the Welshman on the undercard of the undisputed heavyweight title blockbuster between Tyson Fury and Oleksandr Usyk at the Kingdom Arena in Riyadh - a night in which the eyes of the world will be on the event.
Cacace claimed the IBO belt in September 2022 and successfully defended it against Damian Wrzesinski at the SSE Arena last May.
He was due to face Ryan Garner in November in Manchester, but injury forced him to withdraw. But with that issue now cleared, the 34-year-old makes the step up to face Cordina in a fight he has been calling for and one that had been rumoured for a number of weeks.
It will be a big challenge against the unbeaten Cardiff native (17-0, 9KOs) who won the title initially won the title in 2022 with a stunning second-round knockout of Kenichi Ogawa, but was forced to relinquish the strap as he was unable to face his mandatory challenger in time due to injury.
However, the 32-year-old regained the title in his next outing when coming through in a thriller against Shavkatdzhon Rakhimov - whom he was initially due to defend against - by way of a split decision last April and made a successful defence against Edward Vazquez in Monte Carlo in November on a majority decision.
He will represent the toughest test of Cacace's career, but is also the opportunity the former St Oliver Plunkett amateur has been waiting for.
His career has been blighted by misfortune, injury and inactivity, but since his sole defeat to Martin J Ward in 2017, has gone on a run of six wins to put himself front and centre for a world title opportunity.
That is now just weeks away as he gets his shot on what is set to be a monumental night for the sport.
