In an electrifying contest at the Casino de Monte-Carlo over the weekend, Joe Cordina triumphed against Edward Vazquez to retain his IBF Super Featherweight title.  

The Casino de Monte-Carlo provided a spell-binding setting for Eddie Hearn’s Monte-Carlo Boxing Showdown on Saturday 4th November, which had as its centrepiece a highly anticipated fight between Welshman Joe Cordina, 31, and the USA’s Edward Vazquez, 28.

Cordina’s journey to victory

Cordina’s path to victory was marked by consistent success in prior fights.

In his most recent fight, he secured a crucial split decision win against a formidable opponent, Shavkatdzhon Rakhimov, in their IBF World Junior Lightweight championship clash. Cordina’s previous wins have also included a knockout against Kenichi Ogawa and a unanimous decision over Miko Khatchatryan, which have both helped solidified his status as a top-class Super Featherweight and place him as the favourite going into Saturday’s meet with Vazquez.

His opponent of Vazquez, the ninth-ranked fighter in the IBF Super Featherweight division, failed to take the win, but commentators have nevertheless complimented his performance, saying it highlighted his potential in the division.

Cordina won by majority decision, but it was slim, going 116-112, 116-112 and 114-114.

“He’s tricky and he’s clever,” Cordina told the media afterwards. “I had to track him down and work him out. Going into the 10th, my trainer told me it was level. I didn’t box to my best, but I still think I did enough to win. There are no marks on my face, but there are marks on his. I didn’t perform to my best, and he couldn’t beat me on my worst night, and he’s a sore loser.”

Tensions were clearly still high as the pair exited the ring.

Undercard showdowns: thrilling fights before the main event

The fight between Cordina and Vazquez might have been the main event, but it wasn’t the only exciting match-up of the night as the undercard featured a series of compelling fights.

Adrian Curiel delivered a significant win when he knocked out Sivenathi Nontshinga in the second round, claiming the IBF World Junior Flyweight championship. Souleymane Cissokho demonstrated his dominance by defeating Isaias Lucero, and Ramla Ali emerged victorious against Julissa Alejandra Guzman II.

 Read more:

Monte-Carlo Boxing Showdown: a knockout night of boxing set to return to Monaco

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Photo source: Joe Cordina, Instagram