- author, kelly bonner
- role, BBC News NI
Hundreds of people gathered to welcome the Andytown Apaches of boxing back home after they won a world title over the weekend.
The 35-year-old was fighting on the undercard of the heavyweight title fight between Tyson Fury and Oleksandr Usyk.
The west Belfast underdogs were welcomed home to Andersonstown on Monday night with chants of “Anto, Anto Cacace”.
“I'm absolutely shocked and in disbelief. I swear to God,” Kakas told BBC News NI.
“I was in bed two minutes ago and now I didn’t know what was going on.
“I can't believe it, I can't believe it, I'm shocked, my life has completely changed.”
Earlier, after getting off the plane to Belfast, Mr Cacace said he was “very proud” of what he had achieved.
“Before I went out, I looked at pictures of my children and said a prayer. That gave me motivation.”
He added, “I want to win all the belts. If I can win this, I can win all the belts.''
Young boxers Harry Hassin and Gerry McCann were waiting to welcome the champion boxer home.
They said his performance would push them to their best performance.
Young boxers Harry Hassin and Gerry McCann were waiting to welcome the champion boxer home.
They said his performance would push them to their best performance.
Paul and Liz Drane were also among the crowd to welcome Cacace back to west Belfast. They described him as a source of inspiration.
Mrs Drain said tensions were high after watching the Cacace fight on Saturday night.
“I had a delicious burger earlier in the day and I almost brought it up a few times, but it was horrible,” she said.
“But it was great. I was really relieved and really happy for him. The boy did a great job.”
Mr. Drain had trained Cacace when he was younger.
“He was a top-notch boxer. I'm very proud of him,” he said.
“The kids in this mansion can do it, anyone can do it. He deserved it, he was so unlucky that he was ready to give up so many times.
“It just shows what you can do when you stick to something. He believed in himself and did it.”
