Cacace-Ball: Two Throwbacks, One Belt

There are boxers, and then there are fighters. Anthony 'The Apache' Cacace and Nick Ball are fighters.

On Saturday, Dec. 19, at The O2 in Belfast, Cacace (25-1, 9 KOs) makes the first defense of his WBA super featherweight title against Liverpool's Ball (23-1-1, 13 KOs), who's trying to become a two-weight world champion. Queensberry is promoting, and it streams live on DAZN. The two sat down at the launch press conference at the Europa Hotel in Belfast on Oct. 9, and Queensberry has sent over the photos.

Belfast vs. Liverpool. Two of the best fight towns in the UK. Two guys who would rather get hit than look bad. Book it.

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THE CHAMP

Cacace is 37 and has had one of the more interesting late-career runs in recent memory. He was British champion, then IBO champion with a win over Michael Magnesi in September 2024. Then came the big one: in Riyadh, he went after IBF champion Joe Cordina and stopped him in the eighth round. He followed that by outpointing former world champion Josh Warrington at Wembley Stadium and stopping Leigh Wood in nine rounds in Nottingham.

In March of this year he won the WBA belt with a unanimous decision over James 'Jazza' Dickens in Dublin. Now he gets to defend it at home. You can't script it much better than that.

This is a guy who was overlooked for years. There's a lesson in there about how many good fighters fall through the cracks because they don't have the right promoter or TV deal at the right time. Cacace got his shot late and made the most of it.

THE CHALLENGER

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Ball is the opposite type physically, a shorter, compact pressure fighter who comes forward and doesn't stop. He drew with then-WBC champion Rey Vargas in his first title shot in 2024, then won the WBA featherweight title a few months later with a points decision over Raymond Ford.

In February he lost for the first time, stopped in the final round by Brandon Figueroa in a title defense in Liverpool, according to BBC Sport. Now he's moving up to 130 to try to become a champion again.

That's the big question here. How does a guy who's coming off a late stoppage loss handle moving up in weight against a bigger, seasoned champion? Ball's whole game is pressure. At 126, he could walk guys down. At 130, against someone like Cacace who can take a shot and fire back, that's a different kind of problem.

THE CONNECTION

These two have history on the same card. Back in 2023, they both fought on the same Belfast show, the night Ball stopped Ludumo Lamati, who suffered a stroke in the ring but has since recovered. Belfast has seen Ball before. Now it gets to see him in the other corner.

THE MONEY

UK fight, so there won't be any official purse figures. Only estimates. It isn't on our Guess the Purse board for now.

THE BOTTOM LINE

Early betting lines listed on Tapology have Cacace as the favorite, and on paper it makes sense. He's the bigger man, at home, with the belt. But Ball has been in with better than his record suggests, and he doesn't fold.

My gut says this is the kind of fight that makes you forget about whatever disappointed you earlier in the year. Two throwbacks, one belt, one loud building in the week before Christmas. What more do you want?

Source: Queensberry launch press conference images release (Oct. 9, 2026) and "Updated Date & Venue" notice (Oct. 2, 2026). Fight details verified with Queensberry's event page, The O2 Belfast listing and BBC Sport.