I've been watching Cain for the last few years, and I think when he is on form, he has the potential to go all the way. Ashley Lane isn't a world beater by any stretch of the imagination, but he was coming off 2 career best wins and won the British and Commonwealth titles. Cain absolutely dismantled him; everything was there: punch selection, timing, ring IQ, clear power in both hands. His only loss is a questionable one to Baluta, in a British FOTY contender. Cain nearly blew him away in the 1st round, had him down twice, and if he hadn't injured his hand, there's every chance he'd have a first-round stoppage over Baluta on his record. Baluta came back swinging, dropped Cain with a peach of a shot, and won on points, fair play to him, but Cain still did enough to win that one for me, even though he fought Baluta's fight. He was a whisker away from getting a first-round stoppage over a fella who did not look in trouble once against McGrail, McCann, or Michael Conlan. It would've been some statement, and it shows Cain has world-class power in both hands. He also benefits from sparring Nick Ball at Paul Stevenson's gym. If Nakatani were still at bantamweight, I'd give him little to no chance of winning a title, but with the division opening up and the Takuma Inoue, Tsutsumi, Reyes, and Medina all belt holders, could Cain become a world champion at some point? I rate them all, but I don't think any of them are unbeatable. I'm intrigued to watch him this weekend; he's nowhere near active enough for his age and current ranking, but a couple of good wins could easily put him in with a shot at one of these belt holders.
I think so. It's not a strong division. Cain is good enough to beat some of those champs. Cain has always impressed me. Apart from his last fight, but that was more down to Charlie Edwards' running and spoiling like a *****.
