Stunning KO puts Welsh hero Cordina on top of the world

Joe Cordina flattened Kenichi Ogawa with a thumping right hand to win the IBF world super-featherweight title in front of his home crowd in Cardiff last night.

The Welshman, 30, was roared on by a packed house at the Motorpoint Arena as he took less than five minutes to end his opponent's reign. 

Just 75 seconds into the second round, Cordina detonated on Ogawa's chin and ref Michael Alexander counted out the 34-year-old Japanese ace after he crumpled to the canvas. 

The delighted hometown hero said: "I can call myself champion of the world. It feels amazing. 

"I knew I'd get the win, it was how I did it. The reception I had from the crowd, I was going to knock down whoever was in front of me.

"He is down as a puncher on paper but it was nothing I hadn’t felt before.

"What we worked on in the gym came off perfectly. I'm just so happy, so much work has gone into this one moment. 

"I've been throwing some big punches in this camp. I've been in with the likes of Conor Benn and sparred with him and he is one of the most explosive boxers. 

"We call it [the punch] the Roberto Duran, we have been working on it all camp.

"It’s an amazing feeling when you put hours and hours of work into a combination or a punch and then you put it into a fight and it comes off and lights out."

Before the dust had settled on Cordina's triumph, WBO and WBC champ Shakur Stevenson called him out for a unification fight — suggesting he would be happy to travel for it. 

And Cordina's promoter Eddie Hearn wasted little time in laying the foundations for another blockbuster night on British soil. 

Speaking after his fighter's victory, the Matchroom supremo said: "People questioned the power of Joe Cordina. Tonight, he announced himself to the world. 

"If Welsh boxing needed a shot in the arm, this is the young man to do it. 

"Stevenson is an unbelievable talent but that is the sort of level of dream Joe has got to have to become undisputed."

Cordina's glory night in pictures