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Joe Cordina: “I can’t get the ugly Anthony Cacace loss out of my mind”

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Joe Cordina has revealed how “disgusted” he is over his loss to Anthony Cacace.

The Welshman suffered his first professional loss in May, in the fight preceding the Tyson Fury-Oleksandr Usyk fight, when he was unexpectedly stopped in the eighth round.

As a result, he has surrendered his IBF super featherweight title – his struggles to make the 130lb weight limit mean he plans to return to lightweight before the end of 2024 – and remains concerned about the nature of the defeat.

In the third round, the 32-year-old Cordina was hit in the break by his opponent. He was knocked down before the end of the round – referee Bob Williams did not penalise Cacace – and fought until he was stopped in the eighth round. Since then, he has also seen Cacace agree to his first title defence – against Josh Warrington at Wembley Stadium on September 21.

Cordina remains one of the most coveted British fighters and moves into a weight class that is one of the most competitive in the world. But reflecting on what happened in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, and how Cacace and Warrington will fight for his former title, he told BoxingScene: “It hurt [to lose] – especially the way I did it. If I lost to someone who was so much better than me, I would have put my hands up and said, ‘He’s better than me.’ He was better than me tonight and he won tonight – that’s all you can say about it, really.

“But the way it happened, it wasn’t how I planned. I believe that for him not to throw two punches at them and for it not to affect me the way it did – I’ve never experienced that before. It was the inexperience – I just wanted to go back there and fight, where I should have used my head and taken a knee or taken five minutes or made a fuss about it. It’s really sickening to think about it.”

“The way it happened was really on my mind because I had no control over it. If you could see [first] two rounds, you would know that they are quite comfortable and went in my favor. If this had continued – but as the saying goes, “If my aunt had a dick, she would have been my uncle” – if I had not been caught with two shots, the momentum would have continued in my favor. As the fights went on, I gained confidence; I built it, and that would have been it.

Cordina is enjoying a family holiday in Malta and plans to return to trainer Tony Sims’ gym in Essex in September, before setting a November or December date with promoters Matchroom to return to the ring.

“A lot of people would message me,” he said. “I didn’t open a lot of them, to be sincere. I didn’t exploit my phone for a long time. I would text people back when they came to my fights and message me about winning and stuff like that. But some people would message me after I lost and they didn’t praise me when I won — they didn’t come to my fights — and I just felt like they were elated to see me lose.

“It could just be me and it’s in my head. I just tried to stay away from all the news because looking at it that way, maybe the whole occasion clouded my judgment of certain people. I just tried to stay away from it.”

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Boxing

Keyshawn Davis Leaves, Calls Out Emiliano Vargas

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Image: Keyshawn Davis Goes Off, Calls Out Emiliano Vargas

Keyshawn Davis took to social media to criticize Emiliano Vargas as he responded to the praise he received for his impressive fifth-round knockout of Larry Fryers (13-7-1, 5 KOs) on Friday night during a Top Rank on ESPN event at the Desert Diamond Arena in Glendale, Arizona.

(Source: Mikey Williams/Top Rank Boxing)

Keyshawn was so furious he was literally shaking with anger when he talked about Emiliano. I want to know why Keyshawn doesn’t have the same energy for Andy Cruz as he does for Emiliano. He lost to the Cuban Cruz four times in the amateurs and looked wild and crazy when he lost to him in the 2020 Olympic finals.

ESPN commentators were constantly on Emiliano Vargas (12-0, 10 KOs), saying how great he looked after his win over Fryers. The compliments Emiliano got from ESPN were far better than any Keyshawn has received in any of his fights.

They had reason to be: Emiliano looked like future star material, showing power, speed and accuracy in his victory today. His entertainment value combined with his Hollywood looks make him a can’t-miss Top Rank superstar.

ESPN’s talking heads, Bernard Osuna, Tim Bradley and Mark Kriegel, know talent when they see it. If Keyshawn had the talent that Emiliano showed, ESPN would criticize him too but he doesn’t.

He’s more of a WWE wrestler than a boxer. Top Rank needs to think about an exit strategy with Keyshawn because he’s not going anywhere and they made a mistake signing him.

“I will defeat them all” [backsides] same night, including the father,” Keyshawn Davis said on social mediareacting to Emiliano Vargas’ impressive victory over Larry Fryers on Saturday night.

“Tell them to set it up. I’ll go to my father’s [Fernando Vargas] to the youngest brother [Emiliano] same night. Vargas brothers vs. Davis brothers. I don’t care which brother I fight, and dad gets it too.

“Tell Top Rank to set it up. I’m not even playing. I’ve got my eye on you and I heard you talking [stuff] when you had your media training. I was going to drive you by. You’re lucky you got out before I did. I had no idea.

“You’re lucky. You didn’t even know. Talking [stuff]. Although I had ears. [A friend] he called and said, “Keyshawn, the Vargas brothers are talking” [stuff] about you. Tell them to set it up, but tell them they can be under my main, anyway.

“They talk like they’re so popular. You’re a whole different culture. You think my culture knows you, bro? What the hell is he talking about? About me not being an Olympian. You think my culture knows you, bro? Nobody knows you in my culture. What are you talking about? You’re crazy. There’s no comparison between the Davis brothers and the Vargas brothers,” Keyshawn said.

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Jaime Munguia KOs Erik Bazinyan in Round 10

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JAIME Munguia bounced back from his first career loss, stopping Erik Bazinyan in Round 10 at the Desert Diamond Arena in Glendale. Returning to boxing under the sole tutelage of Erik Morales, Munguia’s loss to Saul “Canelo” Alvarez has now been viewed as a learning experience, with Munguia showing composure and patience in dispatching Bazinyan, an Armenian based in Canada.

Bazinyan’s left jab worked well. All he had to do was land a right hook. After four rounds, ESPN’s Mark Kriegel had the underdog on the cards. It was a different fight as Munguia planted his feet and landed solid punches. Bazinyan was down in the seventh round, and Jaime quickly picked up the pace as the remaining rounds ticked by.

Jaime Munguia’s Fight Eric Bazinyan

Caught by a powerful left hook, Bazinyan was hurt and landed ponderous punches in the 10th round as the Mexican kept the pressure on. Referee Thomas Taylor counted Bazinyan, bent over on his knees, at 2-36 in the 10th round. Munguia was ahead by a margin when the fight was stopped 88-83, 87-84 and 86-85.

Munguia improved to 44-1 (35 KOs), while Bazinyan lost for the first time, dropping to 32-1-1 (23 KOs). The winner named 168-pound contenders Caleb Plant and Edgar Berlanga, who both fought last weekend. Christian Mbilli is also on the radar.

Earlier in the evening, Richard Torrez defeated the slippery Joey Dawejko by disqualification in round five. The Philadelphia veteran was ejected from the ring by referee Wes Melton for excessive spitting out of his mouthpiece.

Emiliano Vargas pummeled Larry Fryers, winning by knockout in the fifth round after one-sided blows to the Irishman’s head and body. A pointed left hook finally knocked the brave Larry flat on his back.

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Boxing

Jaime Munguia demolishes undefeated Erik Bazinyan, scoring a 10th-round knockout

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Jaime Munguia faced undefeated Erik Bazinyan on Friday and knocked him out in the tenth round of their fight at the Desert Diamond Arena in Glendale, Arizona.

The former WBO junior middleweight world titleholder applied relentless pressure throughout the fight until his left hook along the ropes allowed the Canadian-based Armenian to be counted out at 2:36.

The victory came in Munguia’s (44-1, 35 knockouts) first fight under up-to-date promoter Top Rank and allowed him to rebound from the first loss of his career, a unanimous decision loss to Saul “Canelo” Alvarez in May.

But for the 27-year-old Munguia, the fight was no ordinary, idle exercise.

“It was a fight I had to fight intelligently. He’s powerful. He hits challenging. So we had to break him down and watch out for body shots. And in the 10th round, I decided to go all out. And that’s how we got the knockout,” said Munguia, who is ranked No. 2 by The Ring at 168 pounds.

Munguia began to pull away at the time of the stoppage, with the judges having him ahead 88-83, 87-84 and 86-85 at the time of the fight’s conclusion. Bazinyan fared best on David Sutherland’s undercard, winning four of the first five rounds, then losing four straight before the knockout.

“I felt like I was winning. I felt like he was very frustrated with my jab, right hook and counterattacks. He was tired. Suddenly I was caught. I don’t know what happened there,” Bazinyan said.

Bazinyan, 29, started the first round with determination, effectively keeping Munguia at bay with jabs and overhand rights. Bazinyan, who respected Quebec trainer Marc Ramsay in his corner, kept control of the distance in the first two rounds as Munguia tried to set the pace in the third. Bazinyan regained control of the boxing in the fourth round when he began doubling and tripling his jabs, catching Munguia whenever he held his head still for too long, breaking his rhythm.

Munguia finally got his bearings in the sixth round, when he began to roll under Bazinyan’s jabs and move in with left hooks around the guard. Bazinyan, admitting he was outmatched when they were close, tried to keep his guard tight rather than trade blows. The body shots were starting to ponderous Bazinyan, who was fighting in the first 12-round of his 11-year pro career.

Bazinyan was hurt for the first time in the seventh round by a right hook that connected as he attempted his right hook, landing flat, followed by a left hook that sent him into the ropes. Bazinyan showed incredible recovery skills as he regained his balance and began looking for opportunities to counter, particularly with a right jab.

As Bazinyan’s blow began to weaken, Munguia’s pressure began to break him.

Munguia used the roll that had previously opened up his opponent to greater effect in the tenth round, hurting Bazinyan with a hook while he was standing upright. Referee Thomas Taylor advised Bazinyan to start fighting, which he did, but his willingness to return fire opened him up to the left hook that led to the final sequence of the fight.

Munguia expressed interest in fighting other top 168-pound fighters in the future, including RING No. 1 contender Christian Mbilli (28-0, 23 KOs), a Montreal-based contender who is co-promoted by Top Rank and Eye of the Tiger Management. Munguia also mentioned Edgar Berlanga and Caleb Plant.

“There are great fights and we will also have great wars.”

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