Gabriel Flores Jnr and Joe Cordina agree on a couple of key points.
The two lightweight contenders respect each other’s talent. They don’t feel that their upcoming collision will go the distance. But of course the one main thing they disagree on is who will triumph when they meet December 13 on the DAZN-streamed undercard of Diego Pacheco vs. Kevin Lele Sadjo.
“I see a domination from my side,” Flores, a 25-year-old from Stockton, California – where this show is taking place – said in a press release. “I feel great, I’ve had great sparring, and I don’t think it goes all 12 rounds.”
“I don’t think it’s going all 12 rounds, but I’ve been wrong before,” said Cordina, a 33-year-old from Wales. “It could go to points, but I’m going to get the win, don’t worry about that.”
Flores, 27-2 (8 KOs), lost a wide decision to Luis Alberto Lopez in 2021, followed that with a close majority decision over Abraham Montoya in 2022 and then lost clearly on the scorecards to Giovanni Cabrera later that year. He’s since notched six straight wins and is coming off a near-shutout of the 15-0-2 Christian Villalba Arriola in June.
Four of those victories were in Stockton while two were about an hour away in Jamestown.
“It feels good to be fighting back in Stockton; my best performances so far have been there,” Flores said. ““This is for my city. Growing up is tough there, and there’s a lot of people that don’t have a lot of hope or belief to do something big.”
Cordina, 18-1 (9 KOs), comes in with experience at a higher level. He is a former junior lightweight titleholder who won the IBF belt from Kenichi Ogawa via second-round KO in 2022 and made two successful defenses before suffering a surprise eighth-round TKO loss to Anthony Cacace in May 2024. Cordina’s sole appearance since then was this July, when he unanimously outpointed the 17-1 Jaret Gonzalez Quiroz.
Flores is ranked fourth by the WBO while Cordina is slotted sixth. The winner of their match will move up in the rankings and be in a prime position to challenge the winner of the November 22 bout between Abdullah Mason and Sam Noakes for the vacant WBO belt.
“This is going to get me back to where I believe I belong: at the top,” Cordina said. “I’ve watched Gabe a couple of times over the years. He’s a good fighter, and the better the opponent I’m with, the better I perform. I know what to expect, I know he’s tough and a good fighter, but so am I, so I’m looking forward to it.
“I’ve been to places where I have gone out of my comfort zone, and the fans can’t get in and fight for him, nor for me. It’s just me and him. I’m not scared of Gabe or any man that has two hands and bleeds,” Cordina added. “I know he’s a good fighter and he’s tough, but the step-ups he’s had to that world-level, he’s fallen short. That’s not saying he isn’t world-level, just that he’s got in the ring with someone that he can’t compete with stylistically.”
Cordina noted that he has gone the 12-round distance several times before. Flores, meanwhile, has never been in a bout scheduled for more than 10. But Flores predicts he will be able to rise to the occasion.
“I think it’s a great style to match up with and it’s going to bring the best out of me. Fighting a lot of the fighters that I’ve been fighting has been good, but when I have someone that is a good name, it’s going to bring me up and get the best of me,” Flores said.
“Joe is good. His resume speaks for itself: a two-time world champion, and he’s technical and pretty sharp. A shoot-out suits me. I’d welcome that; that’s music to my ears. I can win world titles and move up and win more world titles, but right now the focus is on December 13, because that’s where I can prove how great a fighter I am.”
David Greisman, who has covered boxing since 2004, is on Twitter @FightingWords2. David’s book, “Fighting Words: The Heart and Heartbreak of Boxing,” is available on Amazon.
