Injured Cacace out of Ford fight in Riyadh

Cacace has won 24 out of his 25 professional fights, nine by knockout

Belfast's Anthony Cacace has been forced to withdraw from his fight against former world featherweight champion Raymond Ford because of a back injury.

Cacace had been due to face the 26-year-old New Jersey southpaw on the undercard of Moses Itauma and Dillian Whyte's heavyweight bout in Saudia Arabia on 16 August.

However, the 36-year-old has had to pull out of the 12-round super-featherweight contest after injuring his back in training.

"We wish Anto well in his recovery and hope to see him return to the ring later this year," said Queensberry Promotions.

The fight would have given Cacace the chance to cement his position as one of the biggest forces in the 130-pound division.

In May 2024, he claimed the IBF title with a shock eighth-round stoppage win over Joe Cordina before beating Josh Warrington in a non-title contest at Wembley five months later.

Cacace vacated his IBF belt in January before stopping former two-time world champion Leigh Wood in Nottingham in May.