Joe Cordina Agrees Terms to Face Manny Pacquiao, But the Fight Is Not Yet Confirmed

Joe Cordina has agreed terms to fight Manny Pacquiao, promoter Eddie Hearn has confirmed. Hearn was careful about what that means, though. "We've agreed terms to face Pacquiao, but we don't know if it's happening," he said at a press event on Thursday.

The proposed bout would sit on the undercard, the supporting card of fights before the main event, of Tyson Fury against Anthony Joshua. That heavyweight clash is set for Cardiff's Principality Stadium on 11 December. Tickets for the Fury-Joshua fight sold out in one hour, and Netflix will broadcast it globally.

Hearn also said, "From our side, we've agreed to do it." Hearn had first offered Cordina as a possible opponent for Pacquiao in early October, as DAZN reported.

Cordina is 34 and was born in Cardiff. He won the IBF super-featherweight title, one of the four major organisations that sanction boxing belts, and lost it to Anthony Cacace in Riyadh in May 2024. That fight was on the undercard of Fury's first bout with Oleksandr Usyk. Cordina was then due to face Abdullah Mason for the WBO lightweight title in Cleveland in July, but he was denied a US visa and the fight did not go ahead. He has since been cleared of assault charges after standing trial. He is targeting a December return on the Fury-Joshua card.

Pacquiao is 47 and has a record of 62 wins from 73 fights. He has not fought since July 2025, when he came back from a second retirement. His most recent bout was a majority draw in a bid for Mario Barrios' welterweight title. A majority draw means most of the three judges scored the fight level, so neither man was declared the winner.

The wider card is still taking shape. Sky Sports has reported that Deontay Wilder could feature on the Fury-Joshua undercard, and that Jai Opetaia could fight Wilder at the Principality Stadium on 11 December. Neither bout has been confirmed.

For casual fans, the appeal is easy to see. A 62-win veteran returning to the ring, a Cardiff-born former champion looking for a comeback, and a stadium full of Fury and Joshua supporters make for a crowded night. Whether any of it happens depends on the contracts and the calendar. Hearn's own words make clear that agreed terms and a fight date are two different things.