Anthony Cacace-Eduardo Núnez Mandatory Title Fight Ordered By IBF
Anthony Cacace’s title-winning high will have to make way for a ‘Sugar’ rush.
The Ring has confirmed that the IBF has ordered a mandatory title defense for its newly crowned junior lightweight beltholder. Belfast’s Cacace was instructed to next face IBF number-one contender Eduardo ‘Sugar’ Núnez.
IBF Championship Committee chairman Carlos Ortiz informed Queensberry Promotions and Matchroom Boxing, the respective promoters for both parties on Thursday. A letter obtained by The Ring noted that the two sides have until June 22 to reach terms and avoid a purse bid hearing.
The call came five days after Cacace dethroned Joe Cordina via eighth-round knockout on May 18 in Riyadh, Saudia Arabia. Cacace (22-1, 8 knockouts), The Ring’s No. 5-rated junior lightweight, delivered a career-best performance on his biggest stage to date. The bout took place on the Oleksandr Usyk-Tyson Fury undercard.
Cordina (17-1, 9 KOs) entered the fight on the hook to honor the mandatory defense with a win. That obligation has now transferred to Cacace, who has won seven in a row.
Núnez (27-1, 27 KOs) stormed into the number-one slot with an eleventh-round knockout of former titlist Shavkatdzhon Rakhimov. Their Feburary 16 title eliminator saw Núnez hit the road to wear down and stop Rakhimov (17-2-1, 14 KOs) in Dushanbe, Tajikistan.
The fight marked the first time that Núnez was extended beyond the tenth round. He didn’t need much longer than that, however, to close the show. The win extended his current seventeen-fight win and knockout streak.
Cacace and Núnez are obligated to enter talks, per IBF Rule D (b) and (c).
Failure by any IBF titlist to honor a mandatory defense will result in their being stripped of the title. Similarly, challengers who abandon the process will be ineligible to participate in any IBF-sanctioned bout for at least six months. Furthermore, such failure by a challenger will also result in a demotion outside the IBF’s top ten.
Jake Donovan is a senior writer for The Ring and vice president of the Boxing Writers Association of America.
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