Joe Cordina feels he’s being missed for his combat in opposition to WBC light-weight champion Shakur Stevenson for his or her October twelfth conflict in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.
Cordina’s Historical past of Proving Doubters Mistaken
The previous IBF featherweight champion Cordina (17-1, 9 KOs) notes that folks thought he would lose to Shavkat Rakhimov and Kenichi Ogawa. He proved folks unsuitable by defeating these two fighters.
Cordina, 32, doesn’t thoughts that folks assume he’ll lose to Shakur (22-0, 10 KOs) as a result of he fights higher when his again is in opposition to the wall with some extent to show.
He says they’re already speaking about Shakur, 27, combating William Zepeda in February and Gervonta ‘Tank’ Davis in the summertime of subsequent yr. Cordina states he might be the one who winds up going through Tank Davis subsequent summer time as an alternative of Shakur.
Nevertheless, given promoter Eddie Hearn’s hopes of turning Shakur right into a famous person, he received’t let Cordina transfer on and take the Tank Davis combat with out establishing a rematch.
Thriving Underneath Stress
“There was no distinction for a [Shavkat] Rakhimov or an Ogawa combat. Ogawa was going to knock me out. Rakhimov was going to cease me. So, it’s not an issue,” mentioned Joe Cordina to Boxing Information about folks believing that he’s received no shot of beating Shakur Stevenson on October twelfth.
There’s a distinction between Cordina combating Shakur and when he fought Ogawa and Rakhimov. He’s thought of an incredible expertise and maybe the #2 fighter within the 135-lb division behind Tank Davis. In opposition to Ogawa and Rakhimov, followers nonetheless gave Cordina an opportunity as a result of these guys weren’t hyped as tremendous abilities.
“I carry out higher once I’m backed up in opposition to the wall and I’ve received some extent to show when my opponent is high-level, which Shakur is on the highest stage,” mentioned Cordina. “Now, that’s going to make me carry out out of my pores and skin, and I’ve all the time executed that.”
Cordina will want a superb recreation plan for him to defeat Shakur, and he’ll additionally want the New Jersey native to slug with him like he did in opposition to his final opponent, Artem Harutyunyan, final July. Shakur was getting hit lots by Harutyunyan as a result of he wasn’t afraid of his energy. In opposition to Cordina, Shakur could return to his safety-first type of combating to maintain from getting clipped as a result of he hits lots tougher than Harutyunyan did.
“Each time the opponent is that stage and probably above me, I all the time carry out,”‘ mentioned Cordina.
Shakur’s Stevenson on X: “Respect the mentality, however this an entire completely different, Joe I don’t assume you ever seen this stage earlier than 😤.”
“Undoubtedly, they’re overlooking me. 100%, however I don’t thoughts that,” mentioned Cordina about Shakur. “There’s nothing for me to lose. It’s all to achieve for me. I simply should go on the market and go away nothing to likelihood and go away all of it within the ring.”
Individuals wouldn’t be overlooking him if he hadn’t appeared so unhealthy in his eighth-round knockout loss to Anthony Cacace final Could. Cordina was overmatched and by no means aggressive in that combat. Shakur would probably beat Cacace with none issues, which reveals the huge expertise hole between the 2.
“Not essentially. If it’s there, it’s there,” mentioned Cordina when requested if he’ll be on the lookout for a knockout in opposition to Shakur. “Shakur does what he does. He makes them miss and makes them pay, however I may do this. Individuals go on about Shakur being boring. I don’t see it. It’s the artwork of boxing.”
Shakur’s Future Plans Gasoline Cordina’s Motivation
Cordina ought to deal with attempting to knockout Shakur as a result of he’s not going to win a choice in opposition to him, particularly with him being the A-side man that promoter Eddie Hearn is hyping up, with two large fights in entrance of him in opposition to William Zepeda and Gervonta Davis. Given these circumstances, Cordina has little or no likelihood of successful a choice.
“I don’t thoughts being boring, too. Then it comes right down to endurance. I received all of the endurance on this planet. If it means me successful a combat and all I’ve to be is affected person, then pleased days,” mentioned Cordina.
