Less than a year ago, Joe Cordina put himself on the map in the super featherweight. Last June, the U.K. star put Kenichi Ogawa on the ground in front of a crowd at Motorpoint Arena and claimed the IBF Super Featherweight Championship. However, he was stripped of the title months later after suffering a hand injury that left him unable to fight. In his absence, Shavkat Rakhimov became the IBF Super Featherweight Champion. Now, Cordina will look to regain the title he has yet to lose in the ring. Inside his training camp, the U.K. star has little doubt that he won’t have his arm raised at the end of the night.
“Shavkat Rakhimov – he’s tough, he’s strong, he’s fit and he can punch hard. I always say, you have to have a little bit more than just that to beat me. I’m a little bit better than him in all the boxes. I believe I’ve got a very good boxing brain. My ring IQ is second to none. My footwork is at a different level. I’m good on the inside, I can fight up close. I can fight going backward. I can pretty much do it all,” he told Matchroom Boxing.
“Don’t get me wrong, I’m not perfect in any way, shape or form and I’m not the finished article, but he has to have a little bit more than just being tough and strong and being able to punch to beat me. He isn’t really bringing anything that I’ve never seen before. There’s not a man on the planet that I fear. I’ll find a way to put you on the deck.”
