ANTO Cacace says he’ll be ready to go if Carl Frampton invites him to do some mutually beneficial sparring ahead of their fights this Autumn.
Frampton is chasing a super-featherweight title fight with WBO champion Jamel Herring while Cacace defends his British featherweight title against Leon Woodstock on October 10. The Jackal has said publically that Cacace would be an ideal sparring partner to prepare for Herring and, although he hasn’t heard from him yet, ‘the Apache’ would relish the chance to tune up for his own fight and help Frampton get ready for his.
“I’d be available for that, no problem at all,” said Cacace.
“I’d help Carl out with anything. I’d love to share the ring with Carl again especially with such a big fight coming up, I’d love to be part of that in any way possible.”
Frampton and Cacace first sparred during their amateur days with the Ireland boxing team and were professional stablemates for a time at Shane McGuigan’s gym in London.
“I sparred Carl I was 13 or 14 down (in Dublin) with the Irish team,” Cacace recalled.
“He was really light at that stage and I was light as well and I still remember it like yesterday. I’ve done a good few rounds with Carl over the years and they’ve always been good spars, I’ve always learned a lot off him.
“I always tipped Frampton to do big things. He did well in the amateurs but I always thought his style suited the pros a lot more and when he got that break with the McGuigans I genuinely believed he would be a world champion. And I was right.”
He was. Frampton became Ireland’s second two-weight world champion when he beat Leo Santa Cruz and beating Herring will make him this country’s first three-weight king.
“He’s the only reason I went to the McGuigans,” said Cacace.
“I saw what they were doing with Frampton and I thought to myself: ‘I would love a taste of that’. “They were flying at that stage. Obviously things didn’t work out that way but I took the gamble and it is what it is.”
