Joe Cordina gave an indication that his hand injury problems were behind him as he blew away Chicago’s Joshuah Hernandez in just 53 seconds at Eddie Hearn’s Fight Camp, laying the American out on his back with a savage right hand. 

Wales’s former European amateur champion – a 2016 Olympian – has had a stop-start career, having only fitted in 12 fights into more than four years as a professional. A long-term injury to his right hand has been the main problem for the past three years and while the Welshman declared this week that he hopes to box for a world title this year, that timetable seems ambitious on his current trajectory. 

After struggling to get past Faroukh Kourbanov in March at Wembley, his first foight since hand surgery, the important thing for Cordina was to make an impression to breathe a little excitement into his career. He did that in style here winning in the first round. 

Looking for the overhand right from the opening bell, it did not take long for the gaps in Hernandez’s defence to open up. One left jab and a hard right hand and down went Hernandez for referee Lee Every’s full count. 

“I’ve been pushing in the gym and it showed on fight night,” Cordina said. “It was a successful camp and a successful night. I’m through British level and now I want to move on to world level.”