A domestic showdown with Noakes would eliminate those travel complications, but it also presents a difficult challenge for the former IBF super featherweight champion.

Cordina, 34, has fought just twice since suffering an eighth-round knockout loss to Anthony Cacace in May 2024. He returned with victories over Gabriel Flores Jr. and Jaret Gonzalez Quiroz, but neither performance suggested he was back at his best. Flores, in particular, gave Cordina a far tougher fight than many expected.

Before the Mason bout was discussed, Cordina had also been linked to a fight against Shakur Stevenson before those plans fell through.

Noakes (17-1, 15 KOs) is six years younger and coming off a career-defining effort despite losing a unanimous decision to Abdullah Mason for the vacant WBO lightweight title last November. Although defeated on the scorecards, Noakes won widespread praise from fans for forcing Mason into a boxing match rather than allowing the heavy-handed American to dictate exchanges. Mason spent long stretches circling the ring instead of standing and trading, a reflection of the pressure Noakes applied throughout the 12-round contest.

The 28-year-old returned to winning ways in May, stopping veteran Benito Sanchez Garcia in two rounds.

The proposed matchup for Cordina carries significant risk. Another defeat would leave the former world champion with little room to rebuild, while a victory over Noakes would immediately re-establish him as a relevant contender at lightweight.

As reported on @InsideRingShowa Joe Cordina-Sam Noakes matchup is possible for later this year in the discussed Matchroom-Queensberry 7 v 7. Cordina’s legal issues prevented him from entering the U.S. to fight Abdullah Mason this past Saturday.

— Mike Coppinger (@MikeCoppinger) July 6, 2026

The fight would be Ruiz’s first since his majority draw with Jarrell Miller in August 2024. The former unified champion has fought just three times since regaining activity following his 2021 loss to Joseph Parker, with injuries and long layoffs continuing to stall his career.

Knyba (17-1, 11 KOs) suffered the first defeat of his professional career in January when he was stopped in three rounds by Agit Kabayel in a bout for the interim WBC heavyweight title. Before that setback, the 6-foot-7 Polish contender had built an unbeaten record while developing under Top Rank.

The matchup offers both men an opportunity to rebound. Ruiz, 36, is looking to prove he can still compete with ranked heavyweights after years of inactivity, while Knyba will attempt to bounce back immediately from the first loss of his career.

If the deal is finalized, the September 4 contest could help determine which heavyweight remains a factor in a division that continues to evolve following Oleksandr Usyk’s decision to vacate three of his world titles.

Ruiz’s career has never regained the momentum created by his upset of Anthony Joshua in June 2019. Despite earning life-changing purses from their two-fight series, he has boxed only sporadically, with inactivity and unsuccessful negotiations for other marquee bouts preventing him from re-establishing himself as a leading heavyweight contender.

Andy Ruiz Jr and Damian Knyba are in advanced talks for a fight on September 4th in Newark, New Jersey sources told The Ring’s @MikeCoppinger. pic.twitter.com/agBE1OB5c3

— InsideRingShow (@InsideRingShow) July 6, 2026

Errol Spence Jr made headlines recently when he described his training camp for the undisputed welterweight clash with Terence Crawford as “trash.”

Spence was comprehensively beaten by Crawford in 2023suffering two knockdowns before being stopped in the ninth round. The following year, he parted ways with long-time trainer Derrick James, with the pair also becoming embroiled in a two-way lawsuit.

Responding to Spence’s comments on The Last Stand podcastJames appeared to acknowledge that preparations were not ideal, explaining that the gym was busier than usual while he was also overseeing training camps for Anthony Joshua and Frank Martin.

“This is what I’ll say. We weren’t able to do everything that we normally do to prepare for a fight. The gym was busy at that time … so it was a different space. The whole protocol changed right after that [fight] – no kids in the gym, no this or that.

“If that’s his perception… I had two other training camps going on at the same time. They never trained at the same time, but they were going on simultaneously. I will say that. If ‘trash’ is his perception, there’s nothing I can do about it … It was never like I was training all three of them at the same time.”

James did, however, refuse to be blamed for the lack of sparring.

“It was [disappointing] to hear … He said he didn’t spar. No, he did spar for two weeks, and supposedly he got injured within the last week of the sparring.

“So he couldn’t spar for the next eight weeks because he suffered an injury. That’s the only thing that was really different – he didn’t spar because he was injured … [After the injury] his father said, no sparring, he’s gonna save it till the fight.”

Despite their disagreement over the camp, James was quick to stress that nothing should detract from Crawford’s performance on the night.

“This takes nothing away from what Terence Crawford did.”

Spence returns to the ring on July 25 when he takes on Tim Tszyuwith Ronnie Shields now serving as his trainer.