Anthony Cacace believes the winner of his hotly-anticipated domestic dust-up with Leigh Wood in Nottingham this weekend will move onto a world title opportunity later this year.
The Northern Irishman will put his IBO super-featherweight title on the line against former WBA featherweight champion of the world Wood, with both men coming into the bout on the back of relinquishing their other belts.
Cacace was in possession of the IBF's 130lbs title after making a successful first defence of it against Josh Warrington, whilst Queensberry fighter Wood retained his WBA strap against the same opponent in his last fight 18 months ago.
However, the pair have since made the decision to vacate their titles, with Wood opting to pursue glory in a second weight-class whilst Cacace cited financial reasons as the factor behind his decision to ditch his IBF crown.
His decision to walk away from talks to tackle mandatory challenger Eduardo Nunez meant he was stripped of that belt, although he fully expects to be challenging for another of the four officially recognised world titles later in the year, providing, of course, he reigns supreme on Saturday night.
It's the big fights now, but, you know, the winner of me and Wood - which will be myself - will box for a world title.
- Anthony Cacace (BoxingScene)
"I don't know [who it will be against] yet, I don't know yet, but you'll find out pretty soon."
The 36-year-old will step through the ropes this weekend as the betting favourite on the back of an impressive 2024 which saw him defy the odds to overcome Welsh star Joe Cordina, before backing up that victory with an equally as impressive win over Warrington.
Despite fulfilling a lifelong ambition of his in capturing world honours with his triumph against Cordina, Cacace says he has absolutely no regrets in vacating the title following his triumph last time out.
"Financially, it was a no-brainer, do you know what I mean?", he told BoxingScene.
"It's double the money for Leigh compared to Nunez, and if you get offered a job and it's double the money, it's kind of easy to make that decision.
"It may have been different if I was 28, but I'm 36, and the road's getting shorter, so it's time to capitalise."
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