“Welsh Wizard” Joe Cordina withdrew from the November 5 match against Shavkatdzhon Rakhimov due to injury, then quickly lost the IBF belt
DESCRIPTION how impressively he won his IBF featherweight super belt, Joe Cordina’s reign as its holder did not last long.
In fact, it all came to an end last week, when the Welshman was forced to withdraw from a match scheduled for November 5 against Shavkatdzhon Rakhimov due to an arm injury and was subsequently stripped of his belt by the IBF.
Apparently, the IBF were the ones who allowed Rakhimov, the IBF’s mandatory challenger, to step aside to face Kenichi Ogawa in Cardiff, 15-0 (9) in June. That match then ended. famous for Cordina knocking out Ogawa in the second round with a stunning right hand strike and all, as a result of this shot, seemed to be getting brighter about Cordina’s future. He accepts that he will have to fight Rakhimov, who has stayed away from him, in his next fight, and that is the last one scheduled for November 5 in Abu Dhabi.
However, alas, injury and misfortune seem to have beaten Cordina before any other superweight could. Now, just 15 games into his professional career, he’s a former belt holder again on the hunt for a title shot in 2023.
The 30-year-old said on social media: “Absolutely gutted. “I’ve worked my whole life to be world champion and I haven’t even had a chance to defend the title. I feel like I’ve been robbed.”
Certainly, given the ludicrous nature of titles in general, not to mention the lengthy reigns of “champs” with a distaste for fighting, Cordina has every right to find it difficult to do so. . Because even though he won the belt four months ago in the quickest and most obvious way, Cordina’s path to the top has not been smooth or quick. Instead, he must save his time, frequently appear in key skirmishes on big cards, and patiently wait for his opportunity to come.
At 30, enrolling on his own, he doesn’t have much time to waste. He certainly doesn’t have time to lose out on future titles and opportunities due to a nagging injury, the most recent of which cost him a full showcase match in Abu Dhabi on May 5. 11 (a card highlighted by a quality lightweight match between Dmitry Bivol and Gilberto “Zurdo” Ramirez) and the award he received for scoring arguably “Header of the Year” in June.
