By Chuck Daly: In a surprise ending, unbeaten Joe Cordina (15-0, 9 KOs) dethroned IBF super featherweight champion Kenichi Ogawa (26-2-1, 18 KOs0 by s second-round knockout on Saturday night at the Motorpoint Arena in Cardiff, Wales.
After an uneventful first round, Cordina nailed Ogawa with a picture-perfect right hand that knocked the 34-year-old champion out. The fight was immediately halted. The time of the stoppage was at 1:15 of the second round.
“Tonight, he announced himself to the world,” said Eddie Hearn. “Tonight belongs to Wales, tonight belongs to Joe Cordina.
“It was amazing. the support I had here tonight was unbelievable,” said Joe Cordina after the fight. “I’m just thankful.
Super featherweight contender Zelfa Barrett (28-1, 16 KOs) defeated EBU 130-lb champion Faroukh Kourbanov (19-4, 3 KOs) by a one-sided 12-round unanimous decision in the chief support bout. The scores were 20-108, 119-109, 118-110 unanimous decision.
JOE CORDINA JUST DID THAT 👀#OgawaCordina pic.twitter.com/OXsBcqgqVe
— DAZN Boxing (@DAZNBoxing) June 4, 2022
In undercard action, unbeaten WBC International light-welterweight prospect Dalton Smith (11-0, 9 KOs) defeated journeyman Mauro Peroune (14-6-1, 7 KOs) by a sixth-round knockout.
Smith knocked Peroune down in the sixth, prompting his trainer to pull the plug on the contest.
The always tough super bantamweight Gamal Yafai (19-2, 11 KOs) stopped Sean Cairns (8-4, 2 KOs0 by a fourth-round knockout. In knocked the hapless Cairns down in the third, and a round later, the fight was halted. The time of the stoppage was at 1:55 mark.
Undefeated women’s featherweight prospect Skye Nicholson (4-0) state unbeaten with an eight-round points decision over Gabriela Bouvier (15-11-1, 3 KOs). The score was 80-72.
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