At the Casino de Monte Carlo Salle Medecin, a tapestry of fistic artistry unfolded as Joe “The Wizard” Cordina and Edward “Kid” Vazquez engaged in a 12-round chess match that had the crowd at the edge of their seats. The duel between Cordina’s technique and Vazquez’s tenacity left the judges split, with a majority decision narrowly favoring Cordina, who emerged with his IBF World Super Featherweight title intact, albeit with the marks of battle evident in his performance.
Cordina had to summon every trick from his Olympic-honed repertoire to withstand the vigorous challenge posed by Vazquez. The fight was an undulating narrative of power shifts, with Vazquez’s momentous sixth round and Cordina’s calculated eleventh embodying the ebb and flow of their contest. By the twelfth, it was clear that both warriors had spent their essence in pursuit of glory, leaving a scorecard that spoke of a battle royally waged: 114-114, 116-112 twice.
The evening also witnessed the humbling of a champion, as Sivenathi “The Special One” Nontshinga succumbed to the fierce storm of Adrian “Gatito” Curiel. A bolt of a right hand in the second round from Curiel spelled the end for Nontshinga’s reign, with Sparkle Lee’s count sealing a dramatic victory for the challenger, now the new IBF World Light Flyweight champion.
In a display of resilience and skill, Souleymane Cissokho navigated through the early turbulence brought on by Isaisa “Bestia, Jr.” Lucero. After a startling left hook from Lucero in the first, Cissokho recalibrated and began to dictate the pace, eventually sending Lucero to the canvas in the second. Though Lucero would not yield easily, wearing his resolve on his blood-streaked face, it was Cissokho’s night, his strategy paying dividends as he notched a knockdown and sliced through Lucero’s defenses to secure a unanimous decision victory, with scorecards reading 118-109 twice and 117-110.
