Fury vs Usyk: Anthony Cacace beats Joe Cordina in IBF super-featherweight world title bout

In the build-up, Cordina – who made his entrance to the tune of ‘Delilah’ by Welshman Tom Jones – conceded Cacace was not the ideal opponent and had been targeting unification fights instead.

But his rival, who oozed confidence in fight week, was not in Saudi to make up the numbers.

The 20,000 capacity Kingdom Arena was around a third full and after a quiet opening round, the fight came alive in the third.

Moments after he was warned for landing a blow after the bell, Cacace rocked Cordina’s head back with a legitimate left hook.

He then mixed his attack to head and body before dropping Cordina with a thunderous uppercut.

A dazed Cordina rose to his feet, but Cacace continued to land cleanly as the champion somehow survived the round.

Cordina responded well, landing a left hook of his own in the fourth, but he looked vulnerable against a more dangerous puncher.

Three eye-catching uppercuts in a row troubled Cordina in the sixth and, flatfooted, he was backed into the ropes in the seventh and the referee had seen enough in the following round after another barrage of punches.

Cordina’s career has been plagued by injuries and he admitted to being far from his best in his last outing, a tough majority points win over Edward Vazquez in November.

But few, if any, pundits predicted such a dominant performance from Cacace, who announced himself on the world stage in the most emphatic fashion.

“From here on in I want to be in Saudi Arabia every time,” he added.