{"id":295041,"date":"2023-10-31T23:25:04","date_gmt":"2023-10-31T23:25:04","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/sportslifetale.com\/?p=295041"},"modified":"2023-10-31T23:25:04","modified_gmt":"2023-10-31T23:25:04","slug":"exclusive-hearn-labels-cordina-the-best-130lbs-fighter-on-the-planet","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/sportslifetale.com\/boxing\/exclusive-hearn-labels-cordina-the-best-130lbs-fighter-on-the-planet\/","title":{"rendered":"EXCLUSIVE: Hearn labels\u00a0Cordina the best 130lbs fighter on the planet"},"content":{"rendered":"<h1>EXCLUSIVE: Eddie Hearn labels\u00a0Joe Cordina the &#8216;best 130lbs fighter on the planet&#8217; but claims the Welshman &#8216;must stay focused&#8217; to beat Edward\u00a0Vazquez in Monte Carlo<\/h1>\n<ul>\n<li><strong>Eddie Hearn has labelled Joe Cordina as the &#8216;best 130lbs fighter on the planet&#8217;<\/strong><\/li>\n<li><strong>He will defend his IBF super featherweight title against Vazquez on Saturday<\/strong><\/li>\n<li><strong>Listen to Mail Sport&#8217;s new boxing podcast THE HOOK &#8211; with exclusive interviews\u00a0<\/strong><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>Eddie Hearn has labelled Joe Cordina as the &#8216;best 130lbs fighter on the planet&#8217; ahead of his fight with\u00a0Edward Vazquez at the\u00a0Casino de Monte Carlo Salle Medecin on Saturday night.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>Hearn says\u00a0Vazquez will be a &#8216;really tough opponent&#8217; but backs the 31-year-old Welshman to\u00a0defend his IBF super featherweight world title against the American boxer.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>But, Hearn says Cordina &#8211; who trains alongside\u00a0John Ryder and Conor Benn under the watchful eye of Tony Sims &#8211;\u00a0must stay focused on the job at hand or there could be an upset in Monaco.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>Hearn made reference to Tyson Fury&#8217;s fight with Francis Ngannou, saying Cordina could underperform if he starts thinking about future bouts with the likes of Leigh Wood and\u00a0O&#8217;Shaquie Foster.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>The Matchroom promoter feels Tyson may have been too focused on his undisputed title fight with\u00a0Oleksandr Usyk, causing him to under perform against former UFC heavyweight champion Ngannou.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter\" src=\"https:\/\/i.dailymail.co.uk\/1s\/2023\/10\/31\/20\/77241831-12694983-image-a-26_1698785476583.jpg\" height=\"417\" width=\"634\"><\/p>\n<p>Eddie Hearn has labelled Joe Cordina as the &#8216;best 130lbs fighter on the planet&#8217; ahead of his fight with Edward Vazquez at the Casino de Monte Carlo Salle Medecin on Saturday night<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter\" src=\"https:\/\/i.dailymail.co.uk\/1s\/2023\/10\/31\/20\/77241953-12694983-image-a-28_1698785879564.jpg\" height=\"423\" width=\"634\"><\/p>\n<p>Hearn says Vazquez will be a &#8216;really tough opponent&#8217; but backs the 31-year-old Welshman to defend his IBF super featherweight world title against the American boxer<\/p>\n<p>Speaking exclusively to Mail Sport, Hearn said: &#8216;Joe is the favourite heading into the fight. But, there are a lot of Texan and Mexican fans that think Edward Vazquez is going to upset the odds.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>&#8216;For me, Joe Cordina is the best 130lbs fighter on the planet. It\u2019s more about being switched on. Everyone is talking about [O&#8217;Shaquie] Foster vs Cordina or Leigh Wood vs Cordina and as you saw on Saturday, if you talk about a fight that\u2019s upcoming rather than focusing on what\u2019s in front of you, it because a tougher task.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>&#8216;So, as long as Joe is switched on and he\u2019s prepared well and he\u2019s ready I believe he comes through on Saturday. But I do think it will be a tough fight.<\/p>\n<p>&#8216;Vazquez&#8217;s\u00a0going to be really tough, he\u2019s going to try until the very end. So, Joe has to be really tough or he has to take him out.\u00a0Again, Vazquez hasn\u2019t boxed at the level of Joe Cordina.\u00a0Maybe his power can translate at that level again.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>&#8216;He\u2019s going to come forwards all night. Joe is going to have to sting him and hurt him to discourage him. He\u2019s a very tough kid that is desperate to achieve his dream of becoming a world champion, there will be not quitting from Vazquez on Saturday.&#8217;\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>Hearn went on to speak about the\u00a0renowned Casino de Monte Carlo venue which will be hosting this weekend&#8217;s fight.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>The Matchroom promoter said:\u00a0&#8216;It\u2019s strange surroundings as well in Monaco. It\u2019s like a dinner show times 1000. There is royalty there. It\u2019s a tuxedo affair.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>&#8216;There is only 300 people in this incredible Casino room with chandeliers. Obviously Joe is used to walking out at the Millennium stadium or the Cardiff Arena and having all that noise.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>&#8216;So he\u2019s really got to tuned in and up for this moment. Vazquez will be. He\u2019s so hungry. You only have to look at his Instagram and he\u2019s talking about his father\u2019s in his corner and this is his life long dream. It\u2019s going to be a tough fight for Joe.&#8217;<\/p>\n<p>A post shared by Joe Cordina (@joecordina_91)<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter\" src=\"https:\/\/i.dailymail.co.uk\/1s\/2023\/10\/31\/21\/77218751-12694983-Ngannou_also_managed_to_knock_Fury_down_after_a_run_of_blisterin-a-29_1698786827666.jpg\" height=\"423\" width=\"634\"><\/p>\n<p>Hearn went on to share his opinion on the Tyson Fury vs Francis Ngannou fight, saying the Gypsy King &#8216;lost&#8217; his high-profile clash with the former UFC heavyweight champion<\/p>\n<p>Hearn went on to share his opinion on the Fury vs Ngannou fight, saying the Gypsy King\u00a0&#8216;lost&#8217; his high-profile clash with the former UFC heavyweight champion and<span>\u00a0shared his views on the fight with Mail Sport&#8217;s podcast &#8216;The Hook&#8217;.<\/span><\/p>\n<p>Hearn said:\u00a0&#8216;Before the fight I gave Francis Ngannou zero chance of winning, like, on paper it&#8217;s just the most terrible mismatch.<\/p>\n<p>&#8216;A guy who has never had a professional boxing match. And I think there was definitely an element of Tyson looking through him, he wasn&#8217;t as well prepared as he should have been, but it was still an awful performance.<\/p>\n<p>&#8216;I feel a bit for Oleksandr Usyk because the Fury-Uysk fight is massively devalued to the point that Francis Ngannou should get his rematch,&#8217; he added. &#8216;I felt (Ngannou) won the fight. When the final bell went, my gut feeling was he&#8217;s got this.&#8217;\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>Hearn went on to add:\u00a0&#8216;Fury looked scared in the back end of the fight. Every time they got in a clinch, he looked like he was getting flung around.<\/p>\n<p>&#8216;It was a difficult fight in that no one really did a lot in the back end but &#8211; but because [Ngannou] dropped him and because he won those early two rounds, for me, he won the fight.<\/p>\n<p>&#8216;When the final bell went, I went &#8220;oh my God, he&#8217;s lost.&#8221; Everyone was messaging me saying &#8220;Fury&#8217;s just lost, Fury&#8217;s just lost&#8221;. And then, of course, it went to final score cards and he won.<\/p>\n<p>&#8216;Most people&#8217;s reaction was that Ngannou won the fight. I can&#8217;t believe it. Fury looked like the guy who&#8217;s never boxed before. It was amazing.&#8217;<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter\" src=\"https:\/\/i.dailymail.co.uk\/1s\/2023\/10\/31\/20\/77220339-12694983-image-a-27_1698785643388.jpg\" height=\"183\" width=\"634\"><\/p>\n<p>Source: <a href=\"https:\/\/www.dailymail.co.uk\/sport\/boxing\/article-12694983\/Eddie-Hearn-labels-Joe-Cordina-best-130lbs-fighter-planet-claims-Welshman-stay-focused-beat-Edward-Vazquez-Monte-Carlo.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Read Full Article<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>EXCLUSIVE: Eddie Hearn labels\u00a0Joe Cordina the &#8216;best 130lbs fighter on the planet&#8217; but claims the Welshman &#8216;must stay focused&#8217; to beat Edward\u00a0Vazquez in Monte Carlo Eddie Hearn has labelled Joe Cordina as the &#8216;best 130lbs fighter on the planet&#8217; He will defend his IBF super featherweight title against Vazquez on Saturday Listen to Mail Sport&#8217;s [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":295040,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[9],"tags":[],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v21.8 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/wordpress\/plugins\/seo\/ -->\n<title>EXCLUSIVE: Hearn labels\u00a0Cordina the best 130lbs fighter on the planet - Sports Life Tale<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/sportslifetale.com\/boxing\/exclusive-hearn-labels-cordina-the-best-130lbs-fighter-on-the-planet\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"EXCLUSIVE: Hearn labels\u00a0Cordina the best 130lbs fighter on the planet - Sports Life Tale\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"EXCLUSIVE: Eddie Hearn labels\u00a0Joe Cordina the &#8216;best 130lbs fighter on the planet&#8217; 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