Shakur Stevenson vs Joe Cordina October 12th Bivol vs Beterbiev undercard

Recently, WBC lightweight champion Shakur Stevenson announced that his mandatory defense against William Zepeda, initially slated for the October 12th undercard of Dmitry Bivol vs Artur Beterbiev, would be postponed to February. However, in a surprising turn of events, the reliable Julius Julianis has reported that Stevenson has instead signed a one-fight deal with Matchroom Boxing to face former super featherweight champion Joe Cordina on the original October date.

Joe Cordina (17-1, 9 KO), a fellow Olympian, has had a remarkable journey in the professional ranks. His career highlight came with a sensational one-punch knockout of Kenichi Ogawa to claim the IBF title. However, his path has been rocky since then, with tough battles against Shavkat Rakhimov and Eduardo Ramirez testing his limits. Most recently, Anthony Cacace managed to defeat Cordina, aided by a controversial shot during a break.

Shakur Stevenson (22-0, 10 KO) has suggested that Cordina's struggles may be due to the weight cut to 130 pounds, which could have compromised his performance. While this theory has some validity, Cordina remains a questionable choice as a credible challenger. His style doesn't seem likely to trouble the faster and more technically proficient Stevenson. On the other hand, Cordina is too skilled for Stevenson to simply overpower as he did with Shuichiro Yoshino.

It seems that this match-up may not deliver the fireworks fans are hoping for, but perhaps it serves as a necessary prelude to the anticipated Bivol vs Beterbiev showdown.