Joe Cordina Looks Back on Tough Fight with Rakhimov
Joe Cordina admitted to being a little tender on the Monday after winning an early front-runner for 2023’s Fight of the Year, and it was only after the final bell that he realised he and former IBF super-featherweight champion Shavkatdzhon Rakhimov had shared something quite special.
Even though there was give and take through 12 hard fought rounds, Cordina never once considered it was a gripping fight from the outside looking in, because he was more worried about winning the battle.
“I didn’t really take notice of it, but after and reflecting straight back afterwards of what we went through, yes,” said the two-time champion. “But round by round I wasn’t thinking that. It’s definitely up there [as a Fight of the Year contender].”
Cordina carried out this interview while watching the fight back and scoring it round by round. He was at the end of the seventh and felt he had only lost the fifth, that the fourth was close and could have gone either way and, of course, Cordina had scored a knockdown in the second round.
American judge Alex Levin scored 116-111 for Rakhimov, but Cordina reckons he only lost a maximum of three or four rounds on his way to a glorious victory.
“The first one [scorecard] was just absolutely terrible,” Cordina continued. “That means I’ve just scraped a few rounds, and that’s with a knockdown. No chance. I don’t know what he was smoking, but it wasn’t from this planet. Don’t get me wrong, I could see a lot of rounds were closer but a lot of my shots were cleaner, more telling shots. His were flurries there were landing on gloves and arms. Yeah, he did get through with a couple but mine were telling shots from distance and close up where I’m making them count. I knew I won the fight. You have an inkling when you go back to the corner if you’ve won that round, and Tony is one of these guys who’s not going to fill you with bullshit in the corner. I got back and said ‘Did I win that round?’ And he said, ‘Yeah, you’ve pissed that round.’ And if he [Sims] doesn’t answer me when I ask him, I know I’ve lost that round and it was only three or four times he’s done that. It was a close, competitive fight but I believe I won it by three or four rounds at least.”
Cordina had floored the visitor in the second round, the same session the Welshman had annihilated Kenichi Ogawa in for the same belt last June. For a while, Joe felt another quick win could be on the way.
“Yes, I thought I could have got him out of there,” Joe smiled. “There was a point where, if I chucked the kitchen sink at him, and then he don’t go, then it is going to be a long night for me and I’m fighting off sheer heart and determination. Don’t get me wrong, I had to dig in and bite down but I still had a lot in the tank. I could have gone another three or four rounds, but it’s whether I chuck the kitchen sink at him and potentially don’t stop him or it’s going to be a long night or be patient and if I’ve caught him with that shot, I’m sure I can catch him again with that shot. I just had to be patient.”
Cordina Puts Effort in Bringing Boxing Back to Wales
There was a greater good attached to Cordina’s second consecutive big night in Cardiff. Cordina wants the glory nights to return to Welsh boxing for the country’s fight fans. There has been a drought of legacy nights in Wales since the iconic evenings of Joe Calzaghe, and while Cordina is happy to box on the road and defend his titles in Las Vegas, New York or wherever the big bouts can be made, he also is making it his business to help the sport at home.
“I’m open to it all [fighting in the likes of Vegas and New York], but when I came into pro boxing, I wanted to win a world title and the other thing was to bring big nights of boxing back to Wales,” he explained. “You had Calzaghe carrying the flag for years, and there was no one there for him to pass the flag too. Lee Selby won a world title but couldn’t really draw the crowd in and he was fighting away and it didn’t feel the same. For me it was a goal of mine to bring big time boxing back to Wales and give other fighters and opportunity. [On Saturday] You had Brandon Scott, you had Sammy Lee, you had Nathan Howells, Miles Gordon, Gavin Gwynne and Craig Woodruff and Gavin wants to move on to European and world level now, there was a good few fighters who could be on the next shows in Cardiff that I bring back and potentially go on to headline in the future and there are plenty of talented fighters in Wales who don’t really get the recognition or the opportunities to showcase their talent because they’re out of sight out of mind and they’re with small hall promoters. We’re in a good place for Welsh boxing.”
Despite his success, Cordina remains ambitious and the clock is ticking on his future. He understands the time is now to capitalise on the momentum he has created with back-to-back world championship wins, momentum that was stalled by the hand injury that caused the IBF to strip him of the title and allow Rakhimov to box for the vacant crown while the Welshman recovered.
Cordina Eyes Unification Fight After Back-to-Back World Championship Wins
“I’d like a unification fight for me,” Cordina said, looking forwards. “I don’t want to be in this sport too long, where it gets to the point where I start slowing down and I haven’t made the money and been in the big fights so I want them now and I believe I’m in my prime. Yeah, I’m 31 and people look at it in boxing that it’s the back end of your career, but I don’t believe that. I’ve won two world titles in 16 fights. This is the only fight I’ve had to go through the gears. I won my first world title in first gear. I believe I’m in the prime of my career and I’m looking to unify, big fights, more titles and big money and setting my family up for the future.”
One man on the hit list is WBC champion Oshaquie Foster, who has already thrown his name into Cordina’s hat for a unification fight.
On twitter, Foster wrote: “Congratulations to @joecordina_91 Rest Up Then Come See Me I got smoke for ya.”
Cordina replied:“For sure and I’ll have some ready for you too.”
