Anthony Cacace will have to wait a little longer to challenge IBF super-featherweight champion Joe Cordina as Tyson Fury's "freak" eye injury has resulted in the postponement of the entire 'Ring of Fire' card on February 17.

Cacace was due to face the Welshman on the undercard of the undisputed heavyweight title showdown between Fury and Oleksandr Usyk at the Kingdom Arena in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, but a gruesome cut sustained by 'The Gyspy King' in sparring on Friday has forced him out.

There were initial suggestions the card could go ahead with Filip Hrgovic stepping in to challenge Usyk - holder of the WBA, WBA and IBF heavyweight belts of which the Croatian sits in a mandatory position with the last of those alphabet outfits - but it was confirmed by Turki Alalashikh, chairman of General Authority and Entertainment in Saudi Arabia that the entire card will not go ahead in two weeks as planned.

“Riyadh Season announced today that the much-anticipated boxing match between WBC heavyweight champion Tyson Fury and unified champion Oleksandr Usyk, named 'Ring of Fire', has been postponed,” said Alalshikh in a press statement. 

“Originally scheduled for February 17 as part of Riyadh Season activities, the fight will be rescheduled at a later date and tickets will be refunded to the public.”

The upshot for Cacace and the rest of the fighters who were due to appear on the card is that they will have to also wait for a rescheduled date.

Adversity, delays and disappointment are nothing new for Cacace with the Andersonstown man having had to endure more than his fair share and despite the news coinciding with his 35th birthday on Friday, he was remaining positive and believes his shot at the world title is merely delayed rather than dead in the water.

"This is Boxing, as you all know I’ve been through this all before," he posted on social media on Friday evening.

"These things happen for a reason. Staying positive and just waiting on a reschedule date ‘looking like April'.

"Joe Cordina is a man of his word and we will be sharing the ring very soon."

The delay may actually work to Cacace's advantage as the fight was only confirmed at late notice and with the West Belfast man suffering a broken hand in the lead-up to a planned fight with Ryan Garner in November that was cancelled, he will have more time to ensure there are no issues for when his chance finally comes around.

"I'd done nothing since my last fight as I was suffering from a few injuries and broke my hand, but I got this opportunity," he told belfastmedia.com recently.

"The timeframe wasn't great, but you just can't turn this down. I was trying to rest it and manage it, but you couldn't say no to this opportunity as I'm 35 now."