CARDIFF, Wales (AP) — Joe Cordina knocked out Kenichi Ogawa in the second round to take the IBF super featherweight title from the Japanese boxer on Saturday.
Cordina thrilled the crowd in his Cardiff hometown to earn his first world title and hand Ogawa defeat in his first defense of the title. It was also only Ogawa’s second loss in 29 fights, and first in 10 years.
The 30-year-old Cordina underwent major hand surgery in 2019, raising concerns on his potential future punching power. But he put those worries to rest, improving his record to 15-0 (9 KO).
“It is a lifetime of work gone into five and a half minutes of work. I’m just so thankful,” Cordina said. “We’ve been working on that punch all camp and it’s an amazing feeling when you put hours and hours into it and it comes off, in the fight and it’s lights out.”
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