Joe Cordina running out of time to secure Manny Pacquiao showdown

Joe Cordina’s hopes of ending an exceptionally difficult year on a high by facing Manny Pacquiao on the December 11 Tyson Fury-Anthony Joshua undercard in his hometown of Cardiff appear to be fading.

Cordina, 19-1 (9 KOs), was cleared of assault charges this month. Yet those charges had prevented him from entering the US for a shot at WBO lightweight champion Abdullah Mason in July.

BoxingScene reported last week that a contest with Cordina was, at the very least, being considered by the 47-year-old Filipino superstar.

Discussions had even progressed to the point that Wales’ Cordina had agreed to terms for the bout.

But so far, there has been no word from Pacquiao’s team.

And with less than two months to go before the huge Cardiff bill, time is running out for Pacquiao – who will be weighing his options carefully at this late, late stage of his career – to accept.

“Obviously, for me, the main thing is just getting on the show,” Cordina told talkSPORT.

“But for me to fight Manny Pacquiao on a show in my hometown in the Principality Stadium, that's on a different level.”

Cordina just wants to fight.

“It's six weeks on Friday. So, I need to know either way because if I'm fighting Abdullah Mason, that's at 135lbs, or if I'm fighting Manny Pacquiao, that is at 147lbs.

“I need to know because then my camp changes up a little bit.

“Not drastically, but my food, how I'm fueling, then comes into play.

“It's about making sure that I get everything right and to do that I need that information as to whether I'm going to be on the show.”