Anthony Cacace scored a shock eighth-round TKO victory by defeating Joe Cordina for the IBF junior lightweight world title on Saturday.
Cacace (22-1, 8 KOs), 35, from Belfast in Northern Ireland, won his first major world title and ended Cordina’s second reign as champion in a second defense on the undercard of the undisputed world heavyweight title fight between Oleksandr Usyk and Tyson. Fury in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.
A pivotal moment in the fight came in the third round, when Cacace caught Cordina with a left hand after referee Bob Williams asked the fighters to break and stop the fight. Cacace then went on the attack and landed a perfect right uppercut and Cordina crashed face first to the canvas for a one count.
Cacace produced the fight of his life and dominated Cordina after defeating the champion in the third round.
Cordina (17-1, 9 KOs), 32, from Cardiff, Wales, stood and his head cleared as he recovered in the fourth round, but Cacace repeatedly nailed the Welshman with right uppercuts.
From there, Cacace landed 116 power punches to Cordina’s 41 according to CompuBox stats.
Just 39 seconds into the eighth round, a dominant Cacace overwhelmed Cordina, who was bullied for long periods of the fight beginning in the third round.
“I’m in shock,” Cacace said. “Joe is a hell of a competitor but I was hurting him with every shot. The ref called break as I was throwing a punch, there was nothing dirty about it.”
Cordina could now choose to move up to lightweight after a few close fights recently. Cordina won a contested majority points decision against Edward Vazquez in November after winning by a split verdict against Shavkatdzhon Rakhimov earlier last year.
The Welshman got off to a good start but in the third he appeared stunned by the blow delivered after Williams called for the fighters to break. Cacace piled on the pressure and knocked Cordina’s head back with a right uppercut that knocked the champion down for a countout.
Cordina looked in trouble but recovered in the fourth round. However, Cacace remained on top and he repeatedly landed heavy hooks. Cacace finished the sixth round by landing three successive right uppercuts and in the seventh, Cordina took punishment camped on the ropes.
Cacace landed big hooks amid a barrage of punches that led to a smart stoppage and Cordina will now look to bolster his division to repair the damage from his first professional loss.
