JOE Cordina will benefit from loaded dice when he makes, officially, the first defence of his world super-featherweight title in Casino de Monte Carlo tomorrow night.

Cardiff’s 31-year-old unbeaten champion meets Tex-Mex contender Edward Vazquez in Monaco, headlining Matchroom’s annual pilgrimage to the lavish Principality.

And after back-to-back opponents required legacy-defining performances, this time the champion is handed a routine defence against a somewhat unlikely challenger.

Like Cordina, Vazquez also has 16 pro fights under his belt. But this is his first step into 12-round championship class and at a weight division above his own.

Cordina, meanwhile, has been performing in 12-rounders for the past five years and has the incentive of much bigger fights on the horizon.

CASH IS KING

Former featherweight king Leigh Wood, signed to the same Matchroom stable, has spoken about a potential British showdown with Cordina after saying goodbye to 126lb.

That fight could even happen at Wood’s beloved Nottingham Forest football stadium.

Last week, another of the belt holders at super-featherweight, American O’Shaquie Foster produced a heroic display down in Cancun to hold onto his world title.

Plus, Mexico’s awesome three-weight world champion Emanuel Navarrete also resides at 126lb right now, offering up a legacy fight for the ages.

Cordina, for me, likely starts as favourite in two or maybe all three of those fights, such is his pedigree and talent.

No doubt those conversations are already underway, at least by Cordina’s advisors and management team.

KING OF CARDIFF

A lesser champion could be forgiven for looking past this weekend’s opponent.

But Cordina is unlikely to allow a final hurdle of this stature get in the way of truly opening up his championship reign. He’s come way too far to slip up now.

When he won the belt, in the summer of 2022, his second-round knockout of Japan’s Kenichi Ogawa was a true statement of his potential at world level.

A former British and Commonwealth champion, Cordina accepted the fight at late notice after champion Shavkatdzhon Rakhimov had picked up an injury.

And yet, after Cordina himself got injured – punching a proverbial hole in Ogawa – the governing body involved stripped him of his new crown and handed the belt back to the Tajikistanian.

So, when the pair came together at Cardiff Arena in April, it was actually Cordina who assumed the role of challenger once more – for a belt he’d won just 10 months previous.

This time, instead of outpunching the puncher, he outboxed the boxer, defeating Rakhimov via decision after 12 super-entertaining rounds.

This weekend’s opponent Vazquez doesn’t have the strength or ability to extend Joe that far.

His 15-1 record only includes three knockout wins, and whilst his sole defeat was on a split decision to the talent Raymond Ford last year, he’s going to struggle with the accuracy and heavy-handed assaults of Cordina.

With nothing to lose and all to gain, Vazquez could start brightly. But after touching the canvas a couple of times he’ll be happy to survive to the final bell.

TIP: Cordina on Points