Unheralded junior lightweight Anthony Cacace (22-1, 8 KOs) dethroned previously unbeaten IBF world champion Joe Cordina (17-1, 9 KOs) by eighth round TKO on Saturday night at the Kingdom Arena in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. In round three, the 35-year-old Cacace hit Cordina on a break, then dropped him moments later – nearly getting a stoppage. Cordina recovered somewhat between rounds. Cacace later pummeled Cordina on the ropes in rounds six and seven. The bout was stopped by the referee after more punishment in round eight. Time was :39. Cordina was a 7:1 favorite.
Serious question – was that Cordina’s first bout against a tough opponent? Because Cordina looked exactly like a guy who learned to box by watching telly.
The ref won the fight for Cacace. He should have deducted a point for that punch thrown on the break and given Cordina time to recover. That punch on the break changed the whole fight. Hope there is a rematch or they face each other later down the road.
Did Cordina go down or was wobbled from the punch on the break?
Cacace was the better fighter from the get go. If the ref did his job properly, he should have warned Cordina for constantly fouling, especially constantly putting his elbow in the guy’s neck. Cordina must have a pretty weak chin, this guy has a weak ko record, yet he seemed to hurt Cordina every time he hit him. Ofcourse the Brits will come with excuses.
the ref in this fight was horrible he allowed the Welshman to foul continua
It’s amazing to watch fighters like Sanchez and Cordina just plain quit. They train for so long, have so many fights, travel so far to events, and then just lay against the ropes and let the other guy have their title. You can’t teach heart.
I did not see this result coming. Although I’m not big on Cordina I thought he would win easily.
I always saw Cordina overrated. I thought it was a knock out waiting to happen. I actually wanted him to get beaten just for being so cocky and not that good. His last few fights he went life and death with pretty average opossition.
Upset