Joe Cordina Targets American Dream with Lightweight Title Fight
Joe Cordina is striving to become a three-time, two-weight world champion as he prepares to face Abdullah Mason in Ohio on Independence Day.
The former world super-featherweight champion has long aspired to emulate fellow Welsh boxer Joe Calzaghe by winning world title fights in major US venues such as Las Vegas and New York.
However, on 4 July, Cordina's US challenge will take place in the hometown of the 22-year-old WBO lightweight champion Mason, in Cleveland.
"I've achieved everything I've wanted to achieve, I've still got ambition of being a world champion but I've always wanted to have a big fight in America against a big name," 34-year-old Cordina told BBC Radio Wales' Drive programme.
"And, at this present moment, Abdullah Mason is a massive name, especially being the youngest world champion. It's a massive test but it's one I'm more than capable of."
Upcoming Fight for WBO Lightweight Title
Cordina's ambition to become a two-weight world champion is a key motivator as he prepares to challenge Mason.
Joe Calzaghe, a former world super-middleweight and light-heavyweight champion, achieved notable victories in the US during his unbeaten career, including wins over Bernard Hopkins in Las Vegas and Roy Jones Jr at Madison Square Garden in New York in 2008.
"I remember when [Joe] went over to fight Roy Jones and Bernard Hopkins and he had the same sort of ambition as me, he wanted them big in America," Cordina said, reflecting on Calzaghe's career. "Ideally, my goal was to fight in America and fight in Vegas or Madison Square Garden.
"Unfortunately it can't be done, it's in his hometown in Cleveland, so it is what it is, but at the same time, it's one of them nights and to follow in the footsteps of the likes of Joe Calzaghe and other British fighters - Ricky Hatton, Carl Froch and many others - it's just a massive achievement for me.
"I'm over the moon to get it over the line and I'm looking to come and get the job done."
If Cordina succeeds at the CSU Wolstein Centre in July, he will join Calzaghe in becoming a two-weight world champion.
Since losing his IBF super-featherweight title to Anthony Cacace in May 2024—his only defeat in 19 professional fights—Cordina has won twice in the lightweight division (135lb).
He claimed the vacant WBO global lightweight title in July last year by defeating Jaret Gonzalez Quiroz and followed that with a unanimous points victory over Gabriel Flores Jr in California in December.
"I started my career off at lightweight and I think my first nine fights, my 10th fight was at super-feather," Cordina explained, who previously held British and Commonwealth lightweight titles.
"I was just making the weight too easy, so we went down.
"As I'm getting older, your metabolism slows down a little, so it's not as easy to make the weight. So I decided to move up.
"I feel very comfortable at lightweight and I think you're going to see the best of me at lightweight, especially in the next couple of years. I think I'll be in some very exciting fights."
Joe Cordina became Wales' 13th world champion when he stopped Kenichi Ogawa in the second round to take the IBF super-featherweight title in June 2022.
Life and Training: Returning Home to Cardiff
While Cordina looks forward to his second fight in the United States within eight months, he is also enjoying spending more time with his family after settling back in his hometown of Cardiff.
Having trained as an amateur in Sheffield and started his professional career with Tony Simms in Brentwood, Cordina returned to South Wales in 2025 to work with Gary Lockett at Cardiff's Llanrumney Phoenix Boxing Club.
"I missed all my early adult years," Cordina reflected.
"I missed my 18th birthday, my 21st, my 30th, just from travelling back and forth to Sheffield. Then when I turned pro I was up in Essex, so I almost missed all three of my kids' births. Then all their first birthdays I missed, and I missed many of their birthdays along the way.
"The sacrifice kept me hungry but I just think at this present moment in my career, my life, I think mentally it's a lot better for me to be at home and I know the game inside and out now.
"I just need someone to guide me in the right direction, I think Gary Lockett's the right man to do it."
