Cordina won British and Commonwealth titles at lightweight earlier in his career, having been a decorated amateur boxer who fought at an Olympics and in the same Team GB programme as his friend Anthony Joshua.
After turning professional in 2017 he became Wales’ 13th world champion boxer when he beat Kenichi Ogawa to claim the IBF super-featherweight title in June 2022.
Cordina was stripped of the title when he was unable to defend it within a 90-day window after suffering a broken hand, but won it back with a hard-fought split-decision win over Shavkatdzhon Rakhimov in April 2023.
He was a strong favourite to retain his belt in Riyadh in May 2024, but the referee stopped the fight in the eighth round of a bout dominated by Belfast’s Cacace.
Cordina was scheduled to make a comeback against Shakur Stevenson in October 2024, but the WBC lightweight champion pulled out with a hand injury.
Returning from a 14-month lay-off in July 2025 he beat Gonzalez Quiroz with a hard-fought points decision at Manchester’s AO Arena, needing to dig deep against the quick-handed and spirited Mexican.
Cordina was given a scare by Flores Jr in a fight billed as a final eliminator for the WBO lightweight world title.
The Welshman was docked a point in the sixth round in Stockton for rabbit punching and saw his knees buckled by an uppercut in round seven.
However Cordina went on to win his first fight in America 117-110 115-112 114-113, establishing himself as Mason’s number one contender.