Cordina scored a knockdown in the second round, but Rakhimov came back to stun Cordina in the fifth round.
Rakhimov was cut over the left eye in the sixth round which bled throughout but remained in the fight to the end.
However, this was not enough in the eyes of two judges who scored it 115-12 and 114-113 for Cordina. The third judge handed in a card of 116-111 for Rakhimov.
DAVID MORRELL WINS IN FIRST ROUND
WBA “regular” super middleweight champion David Morrell Jr. 9-0; 8 from Cuba who fights out of Minnesota, smashed 2012 Olympic bronze medallist Yamaguchi Falcao 24-2-1; 10 of Brazil to defeat in one round at the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas on Saturday night. The time was 2:22.
Morrell Jr hurt Falcao early in the round as he turned his back and went down for an eight count.
However, soon afterwards a big right hand sent Falcao down and out on his face. Falcao took the fight on at ten days’ notice.
On the same card in a rematch super middleweight, Bektemir Melikuziev 12-1; 9 from Uzbekistan gained revenge for his only defeat against Gabriel Rosado 26-17-1; 15, to win on points over ten rounds.
The scores were 99-91 on all three judges’ scorecards.
Middleweight Elijah Garcia 15-0; 12 from Phoenix outscored Mexico City’s Kevin Salgado 15-1-1; 10 over ten rounds.
LUKASZ ROZANSKI WINS WBC BRIDGERWEIGHT TITLE
In a clash for the vacant WBC bridgerweight title, Lukasz Rozanski 15-0; 14 won on a first-round technical knockout over Alen “The Savage” Babic 11-1; 10 on Saturday night at the G2A Arena in Rzeszów, Poland.
Rozanski made a first start at the opening bell and knocked Babic down, but he managed to beat the count.
However, after a barrage of punches from Rozanski, the referee stopped the fight. The time was 2:10.
MARTIN BAKOLE WINS IN THREE ROUNDS
WBA No 2 ranked heavyweight Martin Bakole 19-1; 14 stopped Igor “Hulk” Shevadzutskiy 10-1; 8 in the third round.
Bakole scored a knockdown with an uppercut left hook in the second round and then battered Shevadzutskiy before the referee stepped in to stop the fight 45 seconds into the third round.
In a cruiserweight bout, Michal Cieslak 24-2; 18 won on a fourth-round knockout against Dylan Bregeon 12-3-1; 3 to win the European title.
Heavyweight Jeamie TKV 5-0; 3 stopped Michal Boloz 5-5-2; 5 in the second round.
Light heavyweight Steed Woodall 18-1-1; 11 outpointed Boris Crighton 10-3; 7 over eight rounds.
GEORGE ACOSTA WINS OVER EIGHT ROUNDS
Junior lightweight George “El Yuyu” Acosta 15-1; 2 outpointed Cesar Villarraga 10-7-1; 5 over eight rounds on Friday night at the Doubletree Hotel in Ontario, California.
The scores were 80-72 twice and 78-74.
Junior lightweight Rigoberto Hermosillo 12-4-1; 9 outscored Ezequiel Caro 9-5; 4 over eight rounds with scores of 79-72 and 78-73 twice.
BONGANI MAHLANGU RETAINS SA TITLE
The oldest active fighter in South Africa, the southpaw 43-year-old Bongani Mahlangu from Boipatong, Gauteng retained his South African junior featherweight title against the 26-year-old comparative novice, Mduduzi Mzimela of Durban on a fifth-round stoppage at the SABC’s Renaissance Hall in Auckland Park on Friday night.