Welsh star Joe Cordina nonetheless hopes his path would possibly cross with Shakur Stevenson sooner or later.
The 2 had been set to combat on the finish of 2024, till Stevenson suffered an harm in coaching.
However, as a substitute of Stevenson-Cordina being revisited, Stevenson returns on February 22 in a combat in opposition to Golden Boy’s promising Floyd Schofield. Requested whether or not he nonetheless views Stevenson as a potential future foe, Cordina responded: “After all. There’s most likely going to be, on this scenario, a way of me occurring a collision course with him. So, simply getting wins after wins after wins till he’s received no alternative however to combat me. Or, if we will get to some type of settlement, then come to a combat.
“However at this second, it don’t seem to be he desires to combat me. Not saying he’s scared by any means, however it appears that method. As a result of when he was at tremendous feather he known as me out, I mentioned, ‘Certain, no drawback. Let’s go’. Then you definately determined to make a combat with another person. Okay, he may need been your necessary. I don’t assume he was, however I had a compulsory anyway. And a unification overrides a compulsory, so it didn’t actually matter. However he took one other combat after which ended up failing the burden. So then he moved up. So, that’s not an issue. That combat’s off the playing cards.
“Then, once I’m at light-weight, I’ve been supplied Shakur once more. No drawback. We take it. I’ve achieved my deal. We all know he’s achieved his deal as a result of Eddie [Hearn, who promotes both] has achieved his deal, as a result of he’s with Matchroom. So it was a easy combat to make and recover from the road. I agreed to my purse with him in a matter of a day or two with [advisor] Spencer Brown. After which we’ve gone by way of this.”
It was on October 12 when Cordina and Stevenson had been scheduled to field, however their combat for Stevenson’s WBC light-weight title was cancelled when Stevenson needed to bear hand surgical procedure. Stevenson, 27, was anticipated to return in February in opposition to Golden Boy’s William Zepeda, however Zepeda couldn’t make the date following his exhausting combat with Tevin Farmer in November, and Schofield then got here in.
“So when the combat fell by way of, by way of harm, the most typical factor to do and the best factor to do is simply to reschedule the dates,” Cordina, 33, defined. “After which, abruptly, he gained’t be prepared for the brand new 12 months. Okay, no drawback.”
Cordina then tried to get lively having misplaced for the primary time in his profession, to Anthony Cacace in Might, however couldn’t get a date. A two-time world champion at 130lbs, Cordina is 17-1 (9 KOs).
“Then, I see that he [Stevenson]’s preventing Schofield in Feb,” he continued. “So I used to be considering, ‘What’s going on right here?’ After which, and these are Eddie’s phrases, he says, ‘I do not assume he desires to combat you’. They had been Eddie’s phrases. And that was it.”
Cordina mentioned he might have been prepared for February 22 had the decision come, and that he educated through the fallout of their combat in case it was rescheduled. Then he returned residence to Wales from Harlow – the place he works below Barry Smith – and educated at residence.
“However then I seen he’s preventing Schofield, after which I went again residence and ticked over again residence,” he mentioned. And that is what I’ve been doing up till this week. I got here again up and simply determined to get again within the combine.”
