The IBF super featherweight world title is on the line this weekend on the boxing schedule when unbeaten fighters Shavkatdzhon Rakhimov and Joe Cordina face off in Cardiff. Will Cordina take the belt in his hometown? Or will the Freddie Roach student be able to bring the world title home to Tajikistan?
Read along for a deep dive into this world title fight between two technical, world-class boxers. There will also be an official Rakhimov vs Cordina prediction to look at before your weekend betting slate is finished.
Rakhimov vs. Cordina Information
Shavkatdzhon Rakhimov vs Joe Cordina
Location of the fight: Motorpoint Arena Cardiff, Cardiff, United Kingdom
Date and Time: April 22, 2023. 5:15 PM ET est. ring walk
How to Watch: DAZN
Last Fight Record
Rakhimov is coming off an impressive TKO victory over Zelfa Barrett last November,
Cordina jumped the queue to challenge for the IBF title against Ogawa, where he scored an incredible KO–in June of 2022.
Rakhimov vs. Cordina Betting Analysis
Shavkatdzhon Rakhimov
Rakhimov is a 17-0-1 world champion boxer that fights out of a very tricky southpaw style. Born in Tajikistan, he now lives in Los Angeles and trains under the famous coach, Freddie Roach. Besides his majority-draw decision with JoJo Diaz, the last time Rakhimov has been in a fight that went to the scorecards was in 2017.
It seems like Rakhimov has the power advantage with his 82% knockout rate, something that will be put to the test for sure on Saturday night.
Joe Cordina
Cordina is a former holder of this IBF belt. He is looking to take it back in front of his hometown on Saturday night. According to BoxRec, he has 81 rounds professionally under his belt, with 9 KO’s in 15 career fights. That is a 60% KO percentage.
Standing at 5’9” and having a 69” reach, Cordina is basically identical in size with Rakhimov. Cordina takes a much more technical approach to boxing, which will lead to a great clash of styles this weekend.
Updates
No injuries have been reported to Matchroom Boxing, or the IBF.
Rakhimov vs. Cordina Betting Preview
Boxing betting odds have Rakhimov as the slight +210 underdog in this world title matchup. According to boxing odds, the Cordina has a -280 line to get his hand raised on Saturday. This means that oddsmakers give Cordina around a 69% chance to win.
Before getting to the Rakhimov vs Cordina prediction, we have to break down the betting lines and the styles of both men.
Notable betting lines are:
- The fight going to a decision at -136.
- The under 10.5 rounds being +163.
We are picking those two lines to look at because this could go a few different ways. When you look at the two styles, it seems like this bout being a technical chess match is most likely, leading to a decision at the end of the night.
But with the little rivalry brewing behind the scenes between these two, it seems like there might be a little more biting down on mouthpieces than you’d think. Cordina proved a lot of people wrong by scoring a brutal KO in his last bout–does he have the power to finish Rakhimov?
Rakhimov vs. Cordina Betting Prediction
This is one of the most exciting upcoming boxing matches right now, and hopefully, a lot of fans are able to watch it. Cordina is in front of his hometown, with lots of frustration built up with the IBF and his belt being stripped.
The bad blood involved in this seems like it will turn this fight into a war over 12 rounds. There has been a lot of frustration from both sides over the last few years with getting this title fight set and not falling through. Now Rakhimov is going to let Cordina try to get his belt back.
Officially, the Rakhimov vs Cordina prediction is:
- Cordina getting his hand raised at the end of the night. His technical ability is good enough to out-class Rakhimov. Is very possible that the confidence in his power will be the deciding factor. Don’t be surprised if Cordina hurts Rakhimov badly more than once.
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