Joe Cordina is still bitter about losing out on a fight against Shakur Stevenson last October when the Newark, New Jersey native pulled out of their scheduled clash with a hand injury. The former IBF super featherweight champion Cordina (17-1, 9 KOs) is still hopeful that Shakur will give him a shot at his WBC lightweight title because he wants to “test” himself against the top fighters at 135.
Cordina, 33, notes that Shakur said in an interview that he didn’t reschedule the fight because he “wasn’t a big enough name.” He feels he is a big enough name as a former two-time title holder. Stevenson had been scheduled to fight Floyd Schofield, who isn’t well known, and then fought Josh Padley. That’s another unknown fighter. The difference is, those two aren’t big punchers like Cordina.
What’s hurt Cordina’s career a lot more than his losing out on the Shakur fight is his eighth-round knockout loss to Anthony Cacace last year on May 18th. Cordina lost his IBF 130-lb title in that defeat, and he hasn’t fought since.
“Not a Big Enough Name?”
“He said, ‘We’ll definitely fight down the line,'” said Joe Cordina to Ring Magazine about what Shakur Stevenson had told him after pulling out of their fight last October with a hand injury. “Fingers crossed that we get that fight because that’s someone I want to fight. He said in an interview that he didn’t reschedule because I wasn’t a big enough name.”
You can understand why Shakur wouldn’t bother to reschedule against Cordina, because he’s more interested in the big-money fights. He’s going to get a nice payday against William Zepeda on July 12th in a pivotal fight for his career. If Shakur looks good and wins that clash, it could open the doors to his getting a unification match against Gervonta Davis.
“I’m a two-time world champion, and he fought someone who is relatively inexperienced in Floyd Schofield,” said Cordina. “That was his excuse. I want to fight him. I want to test myself against one of the best, and he is one of the best. I also want to take what he’s got, which is a title.”
Cordina is a two-time world champion, but he didn’t beat popular fighters to win his titles. Also, he’s from the UK, and U.S fans aren’t familiar with him. For him to get well-known in the States, he would have to beat someone significant, like Gervonta Davis, Raymond Muratalla, or Abdullah Mason.
“Any of the lightweight champions, I’d love to test myself against. They’re the top of the game, and I want to be involved in the fights,” said Cordina.
If Cordina wants to test himself against one of the top lightweights, he’s going to have to get busy fighting again. There’s no excuse for him sitting inactive for an entire year.
Referee’s Incompetence?
“He’s where I should be because of those two shots on the break,” said Cordina about his loss to Anthony Cacace last year on May 18th. “It was incompetence by the referee, and no one ever made a fuss about it. But it was them two shots on the break that was the deciding factor in the fight. The first two rounds in my head was pretty comfortable. I believe I would have went on and beat him comfortably.”
