Cordina shares pictures of gruesome hand injury that caused him to be STRIPPED of his world title
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‘I feel robbed!’: Joe Cordina has been stripped of his IBF world super featherweight title just four months into his reign… as the Welshman shares photos of the horrific hand injury that forced him to pull out of his fight with Shavkat Rakhimov
- Welshman lost the title he won in June after being forced to pull out of the fight
- Joe Cordina says he feels robbed after being stripped by IBF
- He would face Shavkat Rakhimov in Abu Dhabi on November 5.
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Joe Cordina has said he feels ‘robbed’ after revealing that he has lost his IBF super featherweight world title after being forced to pull out of his fight with Shavkat Rakhimov.
The Welshman, who became world champions on a thrilling evening in Cardiff in June, had to defend his title against mandatory challenger Rakhimov, but an injury to his hand meant he had to withdraw from the fight, which will be held in Abu Dhabi. .
Cordina expressed his disappointment on Twitter alongside a photo of his right hand after surgery and said he was “appalled” by the decision to remove his belt.
Joe Cordina expressed disappointment at losing his world title
He wrote: ‘I’ve worked all my life to become a world champion and I haven’t even had a chance to defend the title.’
He added: “It feels like I’ve been robbed.”
Cordina and Rakhimov, denied the chance in his first defense, who stepped aside in June to give Japanese fighter Kenichi Ogawa the chance against the Welshman, should have been fighting on Dmitry Bivol-Gilberto Ramirez’s undercard.
It has been reported that the decision to strip him of his world title was due in part to a belief that his injury could sideline him until March.
The Welshman shared a gruesome photo of his hand after surgery that barred him from his title defense on Nov. 5.
Fans of Cordina, however, are not at all impressed with the ruling, with many pointing out that other fighters’ cases have not been dealt with as harshly.
‘Uh? So they introduced intermediate titles for when champions drop out with a long-term injury. So!’ David Coldwell, a boxing analyst for Sky Sports, noted.
‘Just throwing around interim titles, even if a champion is active. What’s the point?’
Shavkat Rakhimov (L) would face Cordina in Abu Dhabi as the mandatory challenger
While another wrote: This is disgusting! You’ve got people like Leo Santa Cruz who haven’t defended their title in over three years and they’re ridding you of an injury for your first defense.
You’re a joke @IBFUSBAboxing. Speedy recovery champion,” she added.
Another simply called the decision “absolutely disgusting.”
Others urged him to keep his head up and insisted that he come back from his current adversity a better fighter.
‘Come on buddy. I’m sure Eddie (Hearn) will work a lot harder to give you a big fight,” one wrote.
“I was ashamed of you mate, but know you will come back stronger,” another supporter wrote encouragingly.
