Being Joe Cordina, a council boy in Cardiff who becomes a world boxing star despite injustice.

“I don’t really feel emotions. My wife will tell you. I’ve been with her for 16 years and she’s probably seen me cry once in that time. I don’t feel emotions.”

Joe Cordina must have earned the right to play it cool.

After all, having turned professional in 2017, the Olympian is riding the crest of a wave that has spilled over into an undefeated professional career that has already cemented his status as one of the greatest Welsh boxers of all time. .

In a sport where imagery and sound bites are often as much a part of the spectacle as the grisly reality of gladiators in the ring, a little bravado is not uncommon.

But if you look beneath the surface, it’s hard not to get the impression that the 31-year-old is still suffering.

The reason he lost his IBF super bantamweight world title in October, he explains, was that it came without a punch.

Having clinched the title by brutally defeating Kenichi Ogawa last June, a victory that extended his winning streak to 15 fights, Joe was due to defend his belt against Shavkat Rakhimov of Tajikistan the following November.

However, a hand injury forced him to withdraw and the IBF subsequently informed him of their decision to strip him of the title.

“I feel like I’ve been ripped off,” was her first reaction at the time, and it’s fair to say that the sense of injustice surrounding the decision hasn’t abated five months later.

In fact, when we sit down before meeting fans at the flashy, neon-drenched new JD Sports in Merthyr, he openly admits he’s considered leaving for good.

“It was tough. I’m not going to lie,” he says. “I was in a bit of a bad position. I didn’t know if it was going to continue and I really thought it was going to be over for today.

“I spoke to my wife and she told me I was going to be fine. I spoke to the surgeon. He also said he would be fine and be back to hitting in three months.

“So I put all my trust, first in God, then in my surgeon, and went back to my fists. No picky eaters or anything. Don’t get me wrong, sometimes I felt pain or discomfort afterwards, so I had a day off, a few days off, and so on. It’s about building it. Now I’m in a position where I can punch every day without feeling it and starting to go down.

“But I thought I was alone.”

Redemption arcs aren’t always plentiful in this line of work, but when they do, they’re usually big enough to fuel real sports stories, and Cordina could hardly have chosen a better setting.

After a long wait, he finally fights Rakhimov, who boasts an extremely impressive unbeaten record, having won all 17 of his professional fights.

But Cordina has no doubt that when he appears before his hometown audience at the CIA on April 22, he will be able to add a significant mark to that record and get his hands on the belt he believes is rightfully his.

“It’s going to be bad, I’m not going to lie,” he says. “I was there on Friday and it felt a little surreal to me. It was empty, and I just looked around, trying to imagine everyone there, the whole atmosphere. How it was in June and how it will be in April.

“So it felt good to go in there and look a little bit, just a little bit.

“When I come back, it will be bigger and better than I ever imagined.

“I have a chance again. In my home town. I feel like I couldn’t ask for more. It seems that in the end everything worked out. I have one more shot at the title and for me to do two… the world title without losing would be crazy

“I don’t think Wales has ever had a two-time world champion. We had Joe Calzaghe, who was world champion many years in a row. He is Britain’s best champion. So for me to be the first to do that would be another tic.”

The more Cordina enters the conversation, the more confident he becomes when outlining his future ambitions, but perhaps having learned some hard lessons, he’s not taking anything for granted.

Asked what he expects from his opponent next month, he says: “He’s going to try to rip my head off! That’s what he’s going to try to do.

“He’s tough, he’s strong, and yes, he’s going to rip my head off. But there are two types of fighters.

“There are those who think with their hearts and with what they have between their legs. And there are those who think with these things and with their brains. It is me.

“First I think with my brain and then the rest comes if I need it. All the great fighters, the Sugar Ray Leonards, the Floyd Mayweathers, had tough, dangerous fighters coming their way. But they use their heads. They fight using their brains, using their skills and prowess in the ring. That’s what I plan to do.”

The man known as the Welsh Wizard may have to perform another act of magic if he is to regain his crown, but one absolute certainty is the level of support he will have behind him when he steps into the ring.

In fact, anyone at the Cardiff City Stadium during the recent Severnside derby could see the adoration Joe received in his hometown.

“I was on the pitch and Bristol City fans were booing me. They asked me if I had a message for the Bristol City fans. I said yes. You will be broken.”

“I was really cheering him on. I made it 2 to 0.

“But for me to go there and see the support I get from the City fans is great.

“I remember when Neil Warnock was at the club, they were at the Principality Stadium fight. I went there afterwards and we took a picture and talked.

“I have a lot of respect for any manager that comes in, but I think the important questions should be asked of the important people behind the scenes.”

When it comes to football, Joe is obviously as up to date on what’s going on at Cardiff City as any fan, and his beaming smile indicates immense pride in his accurate matchday predictions.

Football was actually his first love and he even dreamed of wearing the blue jersey of his beloved Bluebirds when he was young. In another life, this is a dream that may well come true.

After honing his skills alongside his peers at his St Mellons estate, Joe spent a brief period in Cardiff City. But at age 11 he realized that rugby suited him better. He later played for Rumney, Cardiff Schools, District, East Wales and even Cardiff Blues under-16s.

“There was a patch of grass near our house where we could hit it hard, well they looked big to us because we were so small.

“When you are on publicly protected property, everyone is involved. So all the kids played football or rugby with us. Since it was a square, we even put on and took off boxing gloves. These were not round. it was the one who gives in, or the one who got tired.’

Cordina paints a picture of a kid who didn’t show much interest in avoiding standing his ground and the confrontations that followed, but needed some convincing to get him in the ring.

In fact, his only reason for getting in the ring was to stay fit during the rugby off-season.

“Honestly, I didn’t even want to box,” he continues. “I always struggled when I played rugby. I just couldn’t stand pranks from anyone and I didn’t suffer bullying.

“He ended up getting kicked out a lot, so I had to calm him down and hit him on the head.”

Despite his initial reluctance, there were two important sparks that helped launch his boxing career. Euphoria of victory – and your father.

“If my dad told me to throw myself off a cliff, I would. If he had told me to jump into the fire, I would have. I do what he says.

“I remember him asking me if I wanted a fight and I thought, ‘Then go for it. I’m going to have a fight.”

“That first fight was near the tent and I looked inside the tent and there it was. I just thought, oh my god. If he hadn’t been there he would have grabbed my bag and thrown it.

“I was scared. I’m not going to lie

“I was afraid of embarrassing myself. I was afraid of losing. I was afraid of letting my family down. My father

I know he wouldn’t feel that way. I would be proud no matter what I do, but it’s the fear of losing. I don’t like to lose. If I lose at FIFA or Call of Duty there would be controller breaker!

“That fear of defeat always stays in the head during a fight. I don’t care who you are. It’s always the same. You just have to get over it. I’ve been in the ring nearly 200 times, now amateurs and professionals.

“But sometimes you still worry about not feeling ashamed.

“I think that’s partly why I got to where I am. I’m so competitive. When I had my first fight and won, nothing stopped me.”

Father Joe currently resides in Malta, his father’s home country, but will be back in time for his fight, ready to add his own voice to the thousands of others who will use their support to try and make another great night out in Welsh. boxing.

I hope it’s not the last one either.

In particular, the Cardiff City Stadium fight remains an unfulfilled dream.

“I think it’s definitely going to be a struggle for me over the next couple of years,” he says.

“Whether it’s at lightweight, if I stay at super featherweight or if it’s for unification. I don’t know. I don’t want to get ahead of myself. But it’s my dream.”

“I just have to keep checking the boxes for myself.

“There is also Cardiff Castle. There used to be fights there. So that would be cool.”

For now though, the focus is on next month and the chance to fix some bugs.

Clearly, it’s been a long journey to get here, full of ups and downs.

So if Cordina raises her hand in victory, maybe she’ll show some emotion? Maybe a tear or two?

“Maybe when I get my title back,” he says with a wry smile.

“Honestly. I say that, but if they start asking me questions, putting a camera in my face, it might piss me off. I don’t know!

“But yes. It was a difficult moment. I got over it, I went back to the gym and I’m doing everything to take this title home”.