Raymond Ford’s replacement opponent for August 16 has been named, with Abraham Nova substituting in for Anthony Cacace on about one month’s notice, according to Mike Coppinger of The Ring magazine. Cacace pulled out last week after hurting his back during training camp.
Ford-Nova will take place in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, on a show headlined by rising heavyweight prospect Moses Itauma taking on Dillian Whyte. The event will also feature Nick Ball defending his featherweight title against Sam Goodman and a battle of once-beaten heavyweights Filip Hrgovic and David Adeleye.
According to Coppinger, an offer was made to WBC junior lightweight titleholder O’Shaquie Foster to step in and face Ford. Foster was already planning to fight that same day, but on a different card and against a different opponent.
Foster is still planning to defend against WBC featherweight titleholder Stephen Fulton. That is still expected to land on the undercard of the rematch between Gervonta “Tank” Davis and Lamont Roach Jnr, which was initially tabbed for August 16 but now is likely to be pushed back following Davis’ most recent arrest.
Ford, 17-1-1 (8 KOs), is a former featherweight titleholder who lost his WBA belt last year to Ball. Ford subsequently moved up to 130lbs and has won a pair of decisions over the 23-2 Orlando Gonzalez last November and the 22-4-1 Thomas Mattice in April.
Nova, 24-3-1 (17 KOs), suffered a fifth-round knockout loss to Robeisy Ramirez in 2022 and lost two in a row in 2024, dropping a split decision to Foster and a unanimous decision to the 21-0 Andres Cortes. Since then, Nova has fought to a draw with the 14-3-2 Humberto Galindo last November and put away the 65-72-3 German Meraz after three rounds in June.
Nova has also stayed busy in the Team Combat League, competing in 13 one-round bouts on eight dates between April and June of this year.
David Greisman, who has covered boxing since 2004, is on Twitter @FightingWords2. David’s book, “Fighting Words: The Heart and Heartbreak of Boxing,” is available on Amazon.
