Reporting note: this article draws on Sky Sports; LodiScore provides the summary and editorial framing.
Cordina Pacquiao fight remains unsigned
Joe Cordina says he has been offered a fight with Manny Pacquiao on the undercard of the Anthony Joshua-Tyson Fury heavyweight card in Cardiff. The Welsh super-featherweight has accepted the terms. No contract has arrived.
Cordina, 34, told Sky Sports the offer carried a condition: take it, or the slot goes to someone else. He took it. "I've been offered it, I've said yes, agreed everything and I'm now just waiting for them to either tell me yes or no," he said.
The appeal is name value, not ranking. Cordina is a two-time super-featherweight world champion. He places Pacquiao's name above every other in the sport at present, and says sharing a ring with a fighter he watched before he began boxing would be an honour.
Cardiff venue and December 11 date
The card is set for the Principality Stadium in Cardiff on December 11, headlined by the all-British heavyweight meeting of Joshua and Fury. Cordina was born in the city, which would place him in a home corner if the deal closes.
Sky Sports has approached Pacquiao's team for comment. Until a contract is issued and returned, the bout sits at verbal agreement, the stage where undercard fights most often stall.
Cordina's own preparation has already started. He says he has trained for four or five weeks as if the fight is confirmed. "If the phone rings, I know I'm ready."
Pacquiao at 47 and the Barrios draw
Pacquiao, 47, last boxed in July 2025, drawing with Mario Barrios in a WBC welterweight title fight. Cordina scored that bout for Pacquiao.
His argument is kinetic: power is the last attribute to leave a fighter. He points to Pacquiao's speed on the bags, retained sharpness and existing footwork, then concedes the counter-case himself.
"Yes, his timing might be off, he hasn't been in the ring for a year and a half, and that might be the thing that is his undoing," Cordina said. The layoff is the clearest measurable variable in the matchup, and it sits against an opponent who has boxed eight divisions and knows ring geometry better than most.
Cordina dismissed the criticism that he is fighting an old man. He noted Pacquiao is not a novice and has boxed everybody. The trade is straightforward: a 34-year-old coming off world-title level against a 47-year-old with a long layoff and a bigger name.
Joshua, Fury and Cordina's read
Cordina does not accept Joshua as underdog. He cites heavyweight one-punch variance and expects both men to meet in the middle of the ring and trade.
"You can never write off a heavyweight anyway, but especially when it's Anthony Joshua," he said. "It only takes one shot from him." He called the contest five years too late and said it cannot be a "bore fest".
He wants an early exchange rather than a long negotiation of distance. Whether the heavyweights cooperate is a separate question from the undercard, which is where his own business sits.
What to watch next
- A response from Pacquiao's team to Sky Sports' request for comment, and whether a contract is issued to Cordina.
- Confirmation that the Cordina bout is formally placed on the December 11 Principality Stadium bill.
- Cordina's camp, which he says is already running on the assumption the fight happens.
The original report is from skysports.com.