Joe Cordina edges Shavkatdzhon Rakhimov

He looked beat up, and as he slumped over the ropes, clearly upset over losing his title, you had to feel bad for former IBF 130-pound champion Shavkatdzhon Rakhimov.

He went into the lion’s den, fighting massively popular Wales fighter Joe Cordina in his hometown. He was in a tough spot to get the decision if it went the distance. You truly had to feel bad for him because in the end, he did enough to keep his title.

In what could easily be thrown in the mix as a candidate for ‘Fight of the Year’ next December, former world champion Joe Cordina (16-0, 9 KO’s) regained the IBF super featherweight title with an SD 12 over former world champion Shavkatdzhon Rakhimov (17-1-1, 14 KO’s) on Saturday night.

The two 130-pounders were fighting in front of a raucous, sold-out Cardiff International Arena in Cardiff, Wales. What would play out later on the scorecards, Cordina dropped Rakhimov in the 2nd round. However, the punch, a great inside counter, didn’t hurt Rakhimov as badly as Rakhimov hurt Cordina in round 5, a round that saw Cordina holding on to stay upright. 

Rakhimov had to contend with a very badly swollen left eye through much of the fight that was perhaps from an accidental head butt, something both fighters were cautioned about. The referee indicated the cut eye, and the resulting swelling, was caused by a punch and did not indicate it was from a clash of heads.

While Cordina did land some nice, clean rights and uppercuts, it shouldn’t have overshadowed the relentless fury of Rakhimov, the aggressor, throughout the fight. Cordina certainly had the home-field advantage with the crowd in a frenzy every time he landed a punch. And, the roar of the crowd can certainly make it difficult for judges not to be influenced.

It was a fantastic fight, a give-and-take war with both fighters showing tremendous heart and determination. However, the former champion boxed with effective and scoring aggression, often finishing multiple punch combinations with vicious body shots.

Cordina did land some clean shots that would indeed look good to the judges. But those flashy, single punches should not have erased the voluminous scoring rate at which Rakhimov landed for much of the fight.

However, in boxing, it can be tough to win in the other guy’s hometown and this was evident on the night.   

In the end, Cordina squeaked out a win by the closest of margins with scores of 115-112 and 114-113 overriding Rakhimov’s 116-111. After the fight, Cordina, along with an elated (promoter) Eddie Hearn, indicated it was unification fights they wanted. 

As for Rakhimov, who will need time to heal up a badly cut and swollen eye, he did enough to win the fight and keep his title. 

When he is healthy and ready, here’s hoping he gets an immediate title shot - he, at the very least, more than earned that Saturday night.