It looks like Shakur Stevenson may be defending his WBC lightweight world title against Joe Cordina, if reports that emerged this week are to be believed.
A fight between Stevenson and Cordina has been earmarked for the undercard of Artur Beterbiev vs Dmitry Bivol, due to take place in Saudi Arabia on October 12th.
There were once rumblings that the pair could lock horns at super featherweight in what would have at one point been a three-belt unification.
Though this never materialised, the two skilled pugilists did go back-and-forth on social media at the time.
Cordina gave his true feelings about Stevenson – whom he described as a “great fighter” – in an interview with The Stomping Ground.
“Obviously they’re all great in their own right, but if I had to choose one to face, just because he was at super-featherweight also and after I won a world title he called me out, would be Shakur.
“I respect him, I think he’s a great fighter, I’m a fan and I do rate him, but I’d love that fight.
“You only become great when you beat great fighters.
“To be the best you have to beat the best and for me he’s in the top five pound-for-pound fighters in the world.”
Though ‘The Welsh Wizard’ was full of praise for the three-weight world champion’s skills in the ring, he did admit he finds him “brash” and that he believes American fighters “talk s***.”
🚨 SHAKUR ON A 1-FIGHT DEAL WITH MR?
Shakur Stevenson is reportedly close to agreeing to a 1-fight deal with Eddie Hearn’s Matchroom that would see him defend his WBC lightweight title against Joe Cordina on the October 12 Artur Beterbiev-Dmitry Bivol undercard (@julianisjulius) pic.twitter.com/YFR7RHlTNW
— EverythingBoxing (@EverythingBoxi2) August 19, 2024
“You now what yanks are like, they talk s**t.
“I’ll be honest they all think they’re gangsters, which is mad.
“They all talk, they’re all great talkers and they can all sell a fight.
“They are just so brash, it’s crazy. We had a little back-and-forth on social media, he didn’t say too much, he wasn’t really disrespectful and neither was I.”
The idea of Cordina getting a shot at the Newark virtuoso has come under criticism from some quarters, given it would be his first outing at 135lbs after losing last time out to Anto Cacace.
Cacace stopped the Olympic silver medalist in eight rounds when they met in Riyadh back in May, the first defeat of his professional career thus far.
