sport news Joe Cordina never wanted to be a boxer but is now a two-time world champion... ... trends now

Joe Cordina says he never wanted to be a boxer and that he only tried the sport to make his dad happy before opening up on the low point in his life that made him consider walking away from the professional game.

Cordina - who will defend his world super-featherweight title for the first time against Edward Vazquez in Monte Carlo on Saturday night - has enjoyed a successful boxing career.

The Welshman attended the Olympic Games, turned professional in 2017 and reclaimed his IBF belt by beating Shavkatdzhon Rakhimov by split decision in April after he was stripped of it last year due to injury.

However, Cordina had never planned to be a boxer. Instead, he enjoying playing rugby with his friends and only put on a pair of gloves after his father encouraged him to give the sport a go.

Speaking to Wales Online, Cordina said: 'I didn't even want to box to be honest. I was always fighting when I was playing rugby. I just didn't take any messing around from anyone, and wouldn't be bullied. It ended up me getting sent off a lot, so I had to calm that down and knock it on the head.'

Cordina went on to credit his father for getting him into boxing, saying he decided to give the sport a go at a young age but admitted he was 'scared' when he first started out.

'If my dad said jump off a cliff, then I'm gonna do it. If he told me to jump into fire, I'd do it. I do whatever he says. I remember he asked me if I wanted a fight and I just thought "go on then. I'll have one".

'That first fight it was at a marquee and I'm looking out through the tent and he's there. I just thought 'Oh my God'. If he wasn't there I would have got my bag and shot off. I was scared. I'm not gonna lie.

'I was scared of getting embarrassed. Scared of losing. Scared of letting my family down, my dad down. 

'I know he wouldn't have felt like that. He'd be proud regardless of what I do, but it's that fear of losing. I don't like losing. If I lost in FIFA or Call of Duty I'd be the one smashing up the controller!'.

Since turning professional, Cordina has fought 16 times with 16 wins and no losses. Some of Cordina's best fights and notable victories include wins over Kenichi Ogawa, Shavkat Rakhimov, Gavin Gwynne, Sean Dodd, Joshuah Hernandez, Andy Townend, and Hakim Ben Ali.