Michael Conlan has been delighted by the success of his fellow Irishman Anto Cacace.
Conlan is training for his second fight of 2025, against Jack Bateson on September 5, having returned from consecutive losses to outscore Asad Asif Khan in an eight-rounder in March.
Cacace has been relishing his best run, via wins over Joe Cordina, Josh Warrington, and Leigh Wood in his past three fights, earning the WBO junior-lightweight title, and only having to pull out of another big fight, with Raymond Ford, in August because of a back injury.
The 36-year-old southpaw from Belfast is 24-1 (9 KOs), while Conlan – a two-time Olympian – is aged 33 and 19-3 (9 KOs).
Cacace fights in the weight division above Conlan, and they have been linked with a future bout.
“We’re friendly – we know each other and we’re obviously from the same area and stuff,” Conlan said. “I sparred him. I had him over when I was fighting Leigh Wood and it was great sparring for me for that fight.”
Wood stunned Conlan in the dying moments of their gripping clash in 2022, and the Nottingham man was retired by Ben Davison from a tough fight against Cacace in May.
But it is Bateson, and not Cacace, who Conlan is focused on.
“What’s in front of me is Jack Bateson – it’s the only really thing on my radar, but if I was to kind of look around, obviously I’m a featherweight, Cacace’s a super featherweight, so I’d have to come up for that,” Conlan explained. “But who knows. It’s a possibility. Everything is a possibility.”
Beyond it being a possibility, Conlan has been pleased to see Cacace’s success and to watch him thrive.
“I have the utmost respect for Anto and what he’s done is unbelievable,” he said. “And I’m so happy for him because before this, before he beat Joe Cordina, he really didn’t have a pot to piss in.
“He was living in an apartment with three or four kids and his missus and then he went and changed his life and it’s a great boxing story and that’s
what you love to see. You love to see fairy tales, it’s a fairy tale ending he’s getting.”
Would, however, Cacace-Conlan be as big as the rematch between Paddy Donovan and Lewis Crocker?
“Who knows? I’d say probably them two, the rematch,” said Conlan.
“I think it’s at Windsor Park… it’s a good rematch. If it’s a world title on the line, it could do good numbers.”
Conlan is three years younger than Cacace, and so he is not certain that he and Cacace will ever have the chance to fight.
"I don’t even think Anto will hang around too much,” he added. “I think the first kind of loss you’ll pick up, you’ll probably say, ‘That’s me done’. He’s earned his money. He doesn’t have the crazy expensive lifestyle because he’s earned it so quick. Everything hasn’t changed.
“He’s just living how he lives and he’s a humble down-to-earth guy. And he has an awful lot of money now. He can just go, ‘Okay, I can be secure now’.”
