Eddie Hearn insists Joe Cordina is a “dangerous fight” for Shakur Stevenson in their undercard lightweight fight on the Artur Beterbiev vs. Dmitry Bivol on October 12 at the Kingdom Arena in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.
Reviving Shakur’s Image
The public believes that Hearn is coming out of the bottom of the barrel, and Cordina has been used to boost Shakur’s stock with his declining popularity.
This move builds up Shakur and makes him look like 24k gold to build interest in a unification clash against Gervonta Davis in 2025. In other words, it’s a sneaky way to revive Shakur’s battered public image after endless back-to-back performances against Edwin De Los Santos and Artem. Harutyunyan.
Promoter Hearn believes former IBF super featherweight champion Cordina (17-1, 9 KOs) will beat everyone Shakur (22-0, 10 KOs) has fought in his seven-year career. That’s hard to believe because Shakur has defeated Edwin De Los Santos, Oscar Valdez, Robson Conceicao, and Jamel Herring. There are many chances that Cordina will lose to all four of those fighters.
Fans complained about Hearn choosing Cordina, 32, as Shakur’s opponent. The British striker will lose in the eighth round to Anthony Cacace on May 18 in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. Cordina has not looked good in his last two fights against Edward Vazquez and Shavkat Rakhimov.
Paper Master?
It is very clear from watching those fights that Cordina was the paper champion with the IBF and not the fighter that Hearn thought he was. Hearn says Cordina was the best fighter at 130 before he was dropped and knocked out by Cacace, 35, but that’s wishful thinking. Many felt that Cordina should have lost to Rakhimov in April 2022 in Cardiff, Wales. That fight was in Cardiff’s backyard.
“This is a tough fight. It makes me laugh when I hear people say, ‘Shakur Stevenson vs. Joe Cordina.’ I’m telling you now. This is a dangerous fight for Shakur Stevenson,” said Eddie Hearn on IFL TV about Shakur’s title defense against former IBF 130-lb champion Cordina on October 12 at the Kingdom Arena in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.
If Cordina is as good as Hearn believes him to be, why hasn’t he tried to arrange a rematch between himself and Anthony Cacace so he can avenge his 8th round loss from last May? Hearn has the money to entice Cacace to fight Cordina again, and they could do it at 135 if weight is an issue for Joe.
“Joe Cordina is a special talent. He smashed it [Kenichi] Ogawa was in pieces in the knockout of the year [on June 4, 2022 in Cardiff, Wales],” Hearn said. “He had a fight with him [Shavkat] Rakhimov to become world champion two times. He fought [Anchony] It’s clear and maybe he shouldn’t have been at 130. He was hit behind bars.”
Let’s be clear: Cordina’s loss to Cacace was not because he was hit behind bars in that fight. Cordina hasn’t been in that fight since the first one; he was being worked on by a skilled Irish fighter.
“I told the fighter Shakur Stevenson who was going to beat Joe Cordina for sure. He is a strong warrior. Joe earns a lot of money on October 12th, and we wish you luck because Joe wants big fights and a lot of money. “He was like that a few years ago,” Hearn said.
Again, these former Shakur contenders would almost all easily defeat Cordina: Oscar Valdez, Robson Conceicao, Jamel Herring, Edwin De Los Santos, Jeremiah Nakathilia, Joet Gonzalez, and Artem Harutyunyan.
“The only kind of fight Joe will fight is times like this. That is why this is a dangerous battle. Yes, of course, I will beat Shakur Stevenson. I think he’s a pound for pound talent, and I think he’s a favorite in the fight. But if you’re not ready, you’ll have your hands full because Cordina knows how to fight. He put a piece between his teeth. You think, ‘I’ll show you.’ This is a big fight,” said Hearn.
Shakur’s First Safety Style
The fight is dangerous for Shakur, but only because he is not as good as some fans believe him to be. Shakur can’t punch, and he moves a lot because he’s been injured before. He goes out of his way now to avoid getting hit, making him one of the most entertaining boxers in the entire sport.
If Cordina can shoot Shakur, he still has a chance in this fight, but it will be nearly impossible because the Newark native is focused on defense. He only deviates from his defensive style when facing a weak and slow puncher, such as in his fights with Artem Harutyunyan and Shuichiro Yoshino.
Cordina hits hard, so Shakur will return to his original fighting style of safety on October 12 and be close to impossible to hit.
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