Joe Cordina finally fulfilled his dream of becoming a boxing world champion with a stunning knockout over Kenichi Ogawa on Saturday night.

For many years now hardcore boxing fans have held the belief that Welsh sensation Joe Cordina had what it takes to become a world champion. He’d been on a solid run leading up to the weekend and in front of a capacity crowd in his hometown of Cardiff, he came up with the goods by knocking Kenichi Ogawa out cold in the second round of their highly-anticipated contest.

As a result of the KO, Cordina captured the IBF super-featherweight title and set himself up for a blockbuster showdown in his next outing.

Some have described it as one of the nastiest combat sports knockouts of the year thus far and if you don’t believe us, take a look at the evidence.

Cordina was patient, measured and composed before landing the kind of right hand that would knock the majority of fighters in his weight class off of their feet.

Eddie Hearn was one of the first people to climb inside the ring and celebrate as the 30-year-old made history, less than 24 hours before the Welsh national football team did the same thing by qualifying for the 2022 FIFA World Cup.

The road to the top

A strong amateur career often provides the backbone for a solid entry into the professional realm and that was exactly what happened with Joe Cordina. He won a gold medal at the European Amateur Championships in Samokov, one year on from a bronze medal success at the 2014 Commonwealth Games in Glasgow.

From there he qualified as part of Team GB at the 2016 Summer Olympics in Rio, serving as the final step on the ladder prior to his pro career getting underway.

At this stage he holds a 15-0 record with six decisions and nine knockouts to his name. He’s definitely a big puncher and someone that has the ability to cause just about anyone problems, but few could’ve imagined he’d be quite so emphatic in this title triumph.

Bravo, Mr. Cordina.