How to watch Shavkatdzhon Rakhimov vs Joe Cordina
Champion Shavkatdzhon Rakhimov and challenger Joe Cordina will clash this weekend in Cardiff and BBN have supplied all the details anyone could need to tune in and watch every last bit of action from the first punch thrown to the last bell of the night.
How to watch, previews, predictions, running order and betting odds can all found below:
Fight Details
Date: Saturday, April 22
Venue: Cardiff International Arena, Wales
Main Event: Shavkatdzhon Rakhimov vs Joe Cordina
Titles: IBF Super-Featherweight World title
Rounds: 12×3 minute rounds at 130lbs
Ringwalks: The main event will begin from 10pm GMT (approx)
Undercard Highlights: Welsh rivals Gavin Gwynne (15-2-1, 3KO) and Craig Woodruff (12-6-1, 4KO) rematch for the British lightweight litle following their thrilling draw at the Bolton Whites Hotel last September.
Tickets: Limited remaining tickets can be purchased via Stage Front
More Articles: Rakhimov vs Cordina
How to Watch
TV & Live Stream: The action starts on 'Before the Bell' at 4:15pm on the Matchroom Boxing YouTube channel and DAZN App.
You can watch the main card via the DAZN App from 7pm, which can be streamed via phone, tablet, PlayStation, XBox, or smart TV.
Live Results: BBN will be providing LIVE round-by-round results on fight night HERE
Price: DAZN subscription costs £7.99 per month.
Background
‘The Welsh Wizard’ Joe Cordina (15-0, 9 KOs) captured the famous red and gold IBF belt with a stunning one-punch knockout of Japan’s Kenichi Ogawa on a memorable night at the arena last June to become his country’s latest World Champion. It was a specific punch he and trainer Tony Sims had practised for hours in the gym and took just 75 seconds to win the fight for them.
31-year-old Cordina was scheduled to make the first defence of his World title against Rakhimov in Abu Dhabi last November but suffered a hand injury that required surgery and was subsequently stripped of his title by the IBF.
Tajikistan’s Rakhimov (17-0-1, 14 KOs) won the vacant title by stopping Manchester’s Zelfa Barrett in nine rounds on the undercard of Dmitry Bivol vs. Gilberto Ramirez, and the 28-year-old southpaw is relishing the challenge of defending his crown in Cordina’s backyard.
Defending champ Rakhimov, trained by Freddie Roach in LA and managed by Egis Klimas, wasted no time in accepting the fight with former titlist Cordina. The southpaw was also an IBO World champion between 2017-2019.
Quotes
Cordina: "I'm going into this fight, yeah, as a challenger, but in my head I'm a world champion and I got the confidence of a world champion. I never lost my belt in the ring, so my mindset is that I'm going to be walking in as the champion and leaving as the champion."
Rakhimov: "It'll be a surprise for him."
Undercard Fights
Manchester Cruiserweight Jordan Thompson (14-0, 11 KOs) puts his IBF European Title on the line against Swindon’s Luke Watkins (16-2, 11 KOs), Derby's Sandy Ryan (5-1, 2 KOs) clashes with Canada's Marie Pier Houle (8-0-1, 2 KOs) for the vacant WBO Welterweight Title, Manchester's former World Title challenger Zelfa Barrett (28-2, 16 KOs) faces the USA's Jason Sanchez (16-3, 9 KOs) for the WBA Continental Super-Featherweight Title, Australia's Skye Nicolson (6-0) steps up against Peru's Linda Laura Lecca (15-6-2, 3 KOs) over eight rounds at Featherweight, Swansea Super-Bantamweight Brandon Scott (4-0, 1 KO) takes on India's Karan Gill (3-0, 1 KO) over four rounds, Newport Super-Featherweight Nathan Howells (5-0-1) meets Oldbury's Jahfieus Faure over four rounds, Swansea Light-Heavyweight Sammy Lee (1-0) fights Latvia's Juris Zundovskis (6-5, 5 KOs) over six rounds and Kingston Heavyweight Miles Gordan-Darby (3-0) takes on Swindon's Phil Williams (5-41-1, 1 KO) over four rounds.
Predictions
Tim Rickson, BBN Editor: "Joe Cordina's last KO win was so incredibly impressive and I still haven't seen anything from his 15 performances that would make me bet against him. He has power, skill, pedigree, ring IQ, confidence and a world class corner team. Pressure fighter Rakhimov can also claim to be part of an elite gym too, with Freddie Roach guiding him.
"For me, I see Cordina as a more of complete boxer and he is fighting in his own backyard too. The punch that Cordina finished Ogawa with in such clinical fashion was something he and trainer Tony Sims spent hours working on in the gym together. I can imagine they have found another punch or combination to use against Rakhimov, who can often move around the ring showing the same patterns. He can be seen leaning in too far with his shots sometimes, especially when going to the body, and he will certainly get caught by Cordina if he does that. Zelfa Barrett dropped him with an uppercut, who isn't really revered as a puncher, and caught him on the counter several times in their bout. When Cordina counters him clean, the effects will be far more devastating.
"I predict an early finish from Cordina within the first six rounds, quite possibly even earlier, in my opinion."
Betting Odds
Cordina is the favourite to win at 4/11 with Betway, while the champion is a 21/10 outsider. The odds for a draw is quite low at 14/1, which means it's seen as a close 50-50 fight.
Cordina to win by KO is 5/2 and Rakhimov to score a knockout is 15/4. For Cordina to win by first round KO again is at 80/1!
Running Order
Shavkatdzhon Rakhimov vs Joe Cordina
12×3 IBF World super-featherweight title
Gavin Gwynne vs Craig Woodruff
12×3 British lightweight title
Zelfa Barrett vs Jason Sanchez
12×3 WBA Continental super-featherweight title
Jordan Thompson vs Luke Watkins
10×3 IBF European cruiserweight title
Sandy Ryan vs Marie-Pier Houle
10×2 WBO World welterweight title
Skye Nicolson vs Linda Laura Lecca
8×2 Featherweight contest
Sammy Lee vs Juris Zundovskis
6×3 Light-heavyweight contest
Brandon Scott vs Karan Gill
4×3 Super-bantamweight contest
Miles Gordon-Darby vs Phil Williams
4×3 Heavyweight contest
Nathan Howells vs Jahfieus Faure
4×3 Super-featherweight contest
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