Shavkat Rakhimov was returned to the opponent – Newspaper Kommersant No. 23 (7468) dated 02/08/2023

Russian boxer Shavkat Rakhimov will defend the title of International Boxing Federation (IBF) featherweight champion (up to 59 kg) in a fight against Briton Joe Cordina, which will take place in April. Rakhimov was supposed to meet Cordina last year, but the fight fell through due to an injury to his opponent, who owned the championship title.

Streaming service DAZN, one of the leaders in the boxing broadcast market, has announced a series of spring tournaments that it will show. Among the most notable among them is the one to be held on 22 April in Cardiff. Its central event will be the fight for the world title according to the International Boxing Federation in the category up to 59 kg between its owner, domestic boxer Shavkat Rakhimov, and Briton Joe Cordina. It is a kind of postponed history.

Shavkat Rakhimov got to the champion title, having survived several difficult moments and stumbled more than once on the near approaches to it.

For the first time, he got close to him at the end of the last decade. In 2019, Rakhimov effectively knocked out the strong South African fighter Azinga Fuzile in a match, which was positioned as a qualifying match, for the status of a contender for the then vacant IBF title. A fight for him between Rakhimov and Japanese Kenichi Ogawa was even announced, but it was suddenly canceled due to Ogawa’s injury.

However, in February 2021, Shavkat Rakhimov still came out for the championship fight. It took place in California’s Indio, and Rakhimov’s opponent was the classy American boxer Joseph Diaz, who had an emergency. At the weigh-in, Diaz could not meet the category limit and lost his belt. But in accordance with the IBF regulations, Rakhimov could get it only if he won against Diaz, who, despite the incident, was allowed to participate in the match. Following the results of 12 rounds, one of the three judges recorded the minimal advantage of Diaz, and the other two – a draw, which became the official result, leaving the title vacant. Later, he went to Kenichi Ogawa, and last summer passed into the hands of Joe Cordina, who coped with the Japanese.

This boxer made a meteoric rise. A couple of years ago, he was little known, but, winning victory after victory (there are 15 of them in Kordina’s track record, while there is not a single misfire in it), he has risen sharply in the ratings.

Meanwhile, IBF obligated Joe Cordino to defend the title in the match against Shavkat Rakhimov, having appointed September 2 as a deadline for him. Later, the structure, having considered the appeal of Cordina’s representatives, who claimed that he was unable to enter the ring before the deadline “for medical reasons”, moved the date forward by two months. However, then it turned out that due to surgery on the injured hand, the champion would not be able to compete until March next year. Having lost patience, the IBF stripped Cordina of the belt, however, giving him the opportunity to claim it after his recovery. The title was declared vacant, and Rakhimov’s rival in the fight for him became another Briton is Zelfa Barrett.

Shavkat Rakhimov fought Barrett in November. And it was a very interesting fight. In the third round, Rakhimov survived the knockdown, but recovered, and in the ninth, he forced the opponent’s seconds to recognize Barrett’s defeat.

Alexey Dospekhov