Stevenson vs Cordina reportedly set for Oct. 12 Bivol vs Beterbiev undercard

Joe Cordina lost his IBF super featherweight belt to Anthony Cacace in May

A few days ago, WBC lightweight champion Shakur Stevenson claimed that his “verbally agreed” mandatory defense against William Zepeda would come in February as opposed to the initially stated October 12th Dmitry Bivol vs Artur Beterbiev undercard. Now, the historically reliable Julius Julianis reports that Stevenson has signed a one-fight deal with Matchroom to face former super featherweight champion Joe Cordina on the original date.

Fellow Olympian Cordina (17-1, 9 KO) capped off his rise through the pro ranks with a stunning one-punch knockout of Kenichi Ogawa for the IBF title. The sailing’s been a bit rougher since; both Shavkat Rakhimov and Eduardo Ramirez pushed Cordina to his limits, after which Anthony Cacace pummeled him into submission with the help of an uncalled shot on the break.

Stevenson (22-0, 10 KO) has argued that the cut to 130 compromised Cordina’s abilities, an idea that may not be without merit, but Cordina is still a hard sell as a credible opponent. He doesn’t have the style to give the faster, more technically sound Stevenson issues, and to make matters worse for the viewing public, he’s too skilled for Stevenson to just knuckle down and overwhelm him the way he did Shuichiro Yoshino.

I guess we needed an inevitable stinker to maintain cosmic balance ahead of Bivol vs Beterbiev.