Joe Cordina says he has parted ways with Tony Sims to start anew with Ben Davison after “he had a problem” in his last match.
Cordina lost his world title when he was beaten by underdog Anto Cacace in Riyadh in May and has now decided to part ways with Sims, who has coached him since he turned pro in 2017.
Welsh Wizard insists it was an amicable split with the man who guided him to two world titles at super featherweight.
“I’ve been with him since the beginning of his career, which is almost eight years,” Cordina said in an exclusive interview with Boxing News. “I thought, why fix something if it’s not broken?
“I kept going until the wheels fell off and they fell off. Then you start to evaluate things. I just thought at this stage in my career I just needed to try something new, I needed a refresher. That’s it – a refresher.
“Tony was a great guy and he was like family to me. He and his wife Karen looked after me and I was the only boxer who actually lived with him. He was a great guy, a great coach. He helped me win two world titles so I can’t say a bad word about him.”
The Welshman is now preparing to face Shakur Stevenson for the WBC lightweight title in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia on October 12 and will train with the new Essex-based coaching team of Davison and Barry Smith in Harlow.
Cordina added: “They train completely differently to the way we train at Tony’s so it’s something new, something fresh. I’ve been there for over a week and I believe I’ll excel under their guidance. I’ve learned a lot already.
“I just thought my best chance of winning was [against Stevenson] is under the two of them. I always said the only place I would want to train in England other than Tony would be with them.”
Regarding the split, his promoter Eddie Hearn said: “Sometimes people change.
“I think the relationship between Tony and Joe is unbelievable. They have achieved so much – two world champions – but sometimes you feel like you need something new.
“Joe doesn’t have much time left in his career and he admits that. He’s looking for the biggest games and the biggest opportunities.”
