MANCHESTER, England – Joe Cordina impressed in his return to the ring with a unanimous decision victory over Mexico’s Jaret Gonzalez at Manchester’s AO Arena.
The Welshman was competing in his first contest since losing his IBF junior lightweight title to Anthony Cacace in May 2024. Cordina was not given an easy touch in his return; the game Gonzalez, who fell to 17-2 (13 KOs) with defeat, was a handful throughout the fight, as so many of his countrymen are. However, Gonzalez was not given much on the scorecards, which read 100-90, 99-91 and 98-92 to Cordina.
The contest was Cordina’s first back up at lightweight since he successfully defended his British 135 lb title against Gavin Gwynne in 2019, but the Welshman looked strong at the weight, and he will be thankful for 10 hard rounds as he pushes on towards a title fight. Cordina, who now stands at 18-1 (9 KOs) with the victory, also claimed the WBO Global belt and his promoter Eddie Hearn has spoken of his interest to land Cordina a shot against the winner of Sam Noakes-Abdullah Mason for the WBO lightweight title.
The fight was a cagey affair. Cordina’s timing was a little off, such as the length of time he had been out of the ring, and he struggled to land his jab on the game Gonzalez. Cordina, 33, found success leading to the body and as the round went on he slowly started to find his range. Gonzalez, 24, sprung into life in the second, thudding away at Cordina’s midsection as the pair entered a clinch. The Mexican was lively, and seemed unfazed, even when Cordina landed a crunching left hook late in the round.
After a word from Lockett in the corner, Cordina came out for the third with an intent to show Gonzalez why he had won a world title at 130lbs. The Welshman slapped a jab into Gonzalez’s face and stepped away before the Mexican could land a flurry. Then, when Gonzalez stepped in recklessly out of frustration, he landed a well-timed left hook that shook Gonzalez to his boots. The fight became more physical in the fourth, with Gonzalez pressing forwards and forcing Cordina to settle for scrappy shots on the inside. Gonzalez was taking hard shots to the midsection but he was not deterred and continued to hammer away at Cordina as he came forwards.
Gonzalez pressed forwards in the fifth and took full advantage when Cordina decided to stay stationary when his back hit the ropes. The Mexican planted a right hook that Cordina certainly felt, and he followed it up with another right hand that forced Cordina to cover up. Gonzalez could feel the fight turning in his favor and he poured on the pressure. Cordina couldn’t match Gonzalez’s work rate but as the Mexican came into land again, Cordina caught him with a left hook that buckled Gonzalez’s knees. Cordina moved in for the finish but the bell sounded moments later.
Cordina struggled to deal with Gonzalez’s intensity again in the sixth, and was made to pay for spending too much time on the ropes, allowing Gonzalez to unload on him. But as the session continued, the pace of the fight started to drop; Cordina was able to cement his jab and started to land his right hand off the back of it.
Cordina started the seventh landing a beautiful left hook counter but again it did not deter Gonzalez who continued to come forwards, albeit with less aggression than earlier. Cordina landed a hard shot to the midsection late into the session which forced Gonzalez to hunch over and retreat to the ropes. Oddly, Cordina allowed the Mexican to move around the ring to recover and did not follow his attack up.
In the eighth, Cordina again targeted the body and Gonzalez started to fade, coming forward with less intensity and snap in his shots. Both men were feeling the pace in the ninth, taking every opportunity to hold, but it was Cordina who managed to find the target more often.
Gonzalez, although exhausted, continued to press forward and landed scrappy shots to the body and the back of Cordina’s head. The pair touched gloves to start the 10th and final round and then began to fire away at each other as they had done throughout the entire contest. Cordina had found his timing and Gonzalez had slowed enough for him to land shots seemingly at will. Three successive left hooks were the pick of the bunch; two to the head, and one to the body. It was a perfect example of why Cordina is one of Britain’s most technically gifted fighters. The bell sounded and Cordina showed his respect to Gonzalez who had given the Welshman 10 hard rounds ahead of a push back towards the sport’s summit.
