Joe Cordina has been stripped of his IBF junior lightweight title.
Undergoing surgery caused the Welshman champion to pull out of his Nov. 5 title defence against Shavkat Rakhimov.
Cordina won the title in dominant fashion with a devastating second-round knockout of Kenichi Ogawa on June 4.
The Welshman today posted via his social media informing his fans he recently underwent hand surgery.
Joe Cordina Stripped of Title
In the post, Cordina went on to say:
“Absolutely gutted,” he wrote. “My (Nov. 5) fight in Abu Dhabi is off due to a hand injury which needed surgery, and to top it off, I’ve been informed that I’ve been stripped of the title.
“I worked my whole life and sacrificed everything to become a world champion, and I ain’t even had the chance to defend it. It feels like I’ve been robbed! Breaks my heart, honestly.”
30-year-old Joe Cordina’s fight with Rakhimov was set for the Dmitry Bivol vs Gilberto “Zurdo” Ramirez undercard.
The news of Cordina being stripped also means there is now a third vacant title at 130, following Shakur Stevenson being stripped of the WBC and WBO belts in September for not making weight against Robson Conceicao.
Many fans have questioned the decision made by IBF to strip Cordina after allowing American Errol Spence Jr 17 months of inactivity without giving Spence the same fate.
What are your thoughts on the IBF decision to strip Joe Cordina?
Image credits SashShots
