Joe Cordina unlikely to get another opportunity to fight Abdullah Mason, says promoter

Joe Cordina’s fight with Abdullah Mason last week has likely passed the Welshman by for good after the Welshman was denied a visa by the US Embassy.

Cordina was due to face Mason next Saturday, but he’s been charged with assault after an alleged incident occurred in February at a gas station in Wales.

When Cordina went to the embassy to get his documentation to travel, he was not permitted to go.

“There was an incident recently, I think it’s been quite well documented now,” said Cordina’s promoter Eddie Hearn. “It was never good timing but bad timing especially when you’re obviously applying for a US visa. So that visa was denied and that means that he can’t fight Abdullah Mason on July the 4th which is a big blow but Joe would have to deal with that situation, clear it all up and then we’ll reschedule a fight.

“[He] probably will have missed the opportunity to fight Abdullah Mason but Joe’s a good fighter and a big name and once he resolves that situation, we’ll work with him to get him in another big fight.”

It's likely the British Boxing Board of Control will also need a legal resolution before deciding whether Cordina can continue his career in the UK.

“Joe's adamant of his innocence in the whole situation but that will play out,” said Hearn.

It has caused the bill next week in Norfolk to be rejigged and Albert Bell has been moved from his July 18 date with Andy Cruz on a Matchroom show and into the July 4 Top Rank main event against Mason.

Where does that leave Cruz, who is promoted by Hearn?

“We’re still talking through that at the moment and it’s a tough one because obviously that’s a final eliminator but Bell’s got an opportunity of a lifetime to step up and we’re trying to resolve everything at the moment with Top Rank and DAZN, but it’s likely it sounds that Albert Bell will fight Abdullah Mason and will replace him with an opponent for Andy Cruz.”

Everything has been made easier when things like that happen, now Matchroom and Top Rank share a platform, in DAZN, who also have Golden Boy, Queensberry and Boxxer in their stable.

“If they [Top Rank] hadn’t moved to DAZN we would never have got the [Boots Ennis-Xander] Zayas fight because they’d never put an ESPN fighter in with a DAZN fighter, especially one who’s an underdog in the fight, so that’s been really good. We did [Raymond] Ford-[O’Shaquie] Foster recently, we did Cruz against [Raymond] Muratalla, Shakur [Stevenson] against Teo [Lopez] at the time kind of Matchroom-Top Rank – we’ll take the win on that one – and so this one as well and there’s loads of other fights that we’re talking about so that doesn't just count for Top Rank that counts for Queensberry that counts for Golden Boy and everybody else. There’s good vibes at the moment for people working together.”