Joe Cordina feels he has been overlooked for his fight with WBC lightweight champion Shakur Stevenson in their October 12 bout in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.
Cordina's History of Proving Doubters Wrong
Former IBF featherweight champion Cordina (17-1, 9 KOs) notes that people thought he would lose to Shavkat Rakhimov and Kenichi Ogawa. He proved people wrong by defeating those two fighters.
Cordina, 32, doesn't mind people thinking he's going to lose to Shakur (22-0, 10 KOs) because he fights better when his back is against the wall and the proof point.
He says they are already talking about Shakur, 27, who fought William Zepeda in February and Gervonta 'Tank' Davis next summer. Cordina says he could be the one to face Tank Davis next summer instead of Shakur.
However, given promoter Eddie Hearn's hopes of turning Shakur into a superstar, he won't allow Cordina to move on and take the Tank Davis fight without scheduling a rematch.
Thriving Under Pressure
“There was no difference in a [Shavkat] Rakhimov or Ogawa to fight. Ogawa was going to take me out. Rakhimov was going to stop me. So, it's not a problem,” Joe Cordina told Boxing News about people who believe he has no chance of beating Shakur Stevenson on October 12.
There is a difference between Cordina fighting Shakur and when he fought Ogawa and Rakhimov. He is considered a great talent and probably the #2 fighter in the 135-lb division behind Tank Davis. Against Ogawa and Rakhimov, fans still gave Cordina a chance because those guys weren't hailed as top talents.
“I do better when I have the support of a wall and I have a point to prove when my opponent is at a high level, Shakur is at a high level,” said Cordina. “Now, that would make me jump out of my skin, and I always have.”
Cordina will need a good game plan to defeat Shakur, and he will also need the New Jersey native to cool down like he did against his last opponent, Artem Harutyunyan, last July. Shakur was beaten hard by Harutyunyan because he was not afraid of his power. Against Cordina, Shakur may return to his starting safety position to avoid getting cut because he hits harder than Harutyunyan.
“Whenever the opponent is at that level and is more than me, I always do well,” said Cordina.
Shakur's Stevenson on X: “Respect the attitude, but this is so different, Joe I don't think you've seen this level before 😤.”
“Of course, they ignore me. 100%, but I don't have a problem with that,” Cordina said of Shakur. “I have nothing to lose. Everything is to my advantage. I have to go out and leave nothing behind and leave everything in the ring.”
People wouldn't have noticed him if he hadn't looked so bad in his eighth round loss to Anthony Cacace last May. Cordina was over the top and did not compete in that fight. Shakur will likely beat Cacace with no problems, which shows the wide talent gap between the two.
“It's not like that. If it's there, it's there,” Cordina said when asked if she would seek a knockout punch from Shakur. “Shakur does what he does. You make them miss and pay, but I can do that too. People go on about Shakur being boring. I don't see it. It is the art of boxing.”
Shakur's Future Plans Fuel Cordina's Motivation
Cordina has to focus on trying to knock Shakur down because he's not going to win a decision against him, especially since he's the guy on A's promotion Eddie Hearn's side, with two big fights ahead of him with William Zepeda and Gervonta Davis. . Given those circumstances, Cordina has very little chance of winning a decision.
“I don't mind being boring either. Then patience runs out. I found all the patience in the world. If it means that I have won the battle and all I have to have is patience, it will be happy days,” said Cordina.
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