Anthony Cacace Shocks Joe Cordina
IBF junior lightweight champion Joe Cordina (17-1, 9KO) attempted his third title defense against #9 ranked contender Anthony “The Apache” Cacace (22-1, 8KO). The fight was entertaining, but the champion had to pay the ultimate price by fighting out of his element.
The first few rounds were controlled by Cordina. A mid-level chess match between a champion and an over-matched contender en route to an easy decision victory for the champ. Then in round four, Cacace landed a hook after the referee called for a break in action. On the surface, the punch didn’t seem to affect Cordina, however, this became the beginning of the end. When the action resumed, Cacace landed another hook that immediately rocked the champion. A follow-up flurry that ended with an uppercut and a straight right floored Cordina!
The champ survived the round and enjoyed a small comeback in the next round. Nevertheless, the game-plan for Cordina was incorrect. Instead of controlling the pace of the fight from mid-range behind his jab and using his footwork to keep the distance, he stayed in the pocket which gave Cacace all kinds of opportunities. Maybe given Cacace’s lack of knockouts, he felt the contender couldn’t hurt him consistently. Nevertheless, Cordina never made the adjustment going into the middle rounds and found himself on the end of a big flurry in round eight which prompted the referee to stop the bout!
Cacace was basically written off as a “tune-up” for Cordina before the champ would look to unify on the division. However, an upset was the fate, and Cacace becomes the new IBF champion!
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