Pacquiao on the undercard? Hearn says Cordina has agreed terms
Joe Cordina has agreed terms to face Manny Pacquiao on December 11 in Cardiff, promoter Eddie Hearn says. Whether the 47-year-old Pacquiao signs up remains open.
Archive image · Photo: Robert Oswald P. Alfiler for the Philippine News Agency (state-owned publication) / Wikimedia Commons, Public domain (cropped and resized)
Promoter Eddie Hearn said at a media event on Thursday that Welshman Joe Cordina has agreed terms for a fight with Manny Pacquiao. According to BBC Sport, the bout would take place on the undercard of Tyson Fury vs Anthony Joshua on December 11 at Cardiff's Principality Stadium. "We've agreed terms to face Pacquiao, but we don't know if it's happening," Hearn said. "From our side, we've agreed to do it."
According to Ring Magazine, Hearn added: "We were approached about the fight, agreed the purse and now we're waiting to hear." No statement from Pacquiao's camp is quoted in the reports. The eight-division world champion is 47 and last fought in July 2025, when he boxed to a majority draw with Mario Barrios for a welterweight world title. It would be his first fight in the UK, the BBC says.
Cordina, 34, from Cardiff, is a former IBF super-featherweight world champion. A world title fight against Abdullah Mason planned for July in Cleveland fell through after he was denied a US visa. No other undercard bouts for Cardiff have been officially announced yet.