After back-to-back upset wins, Angelino Cordova hopes a world title opportunity is up next.

The unbeaten Venezuelan is coming off an upset unanimous decision over former WBO junior flyweight titleholder Angel Acosta on April 6 in his flyweight debut. If he had his pick, he’d want a shot at WBC flyweight titleholder Julio Cesar Martinez next.

“I want ‘Rey’ Martinez next. I hope he will give me a shot. I just got done shocking the world. Going in [against Acosta] I was a big underdog, everybody thought I was gonna lose and nobody gave me a chance,” said Cordova (18-0-1, 12 knockouts) from his training base at Park Elite Boxing Academy in Roselle Park, N.J.

Martinez (19-2, 14 KOs) last fought in December, when he retained his belt for the fifth time with a majority decision win over Samuel Carmona. He will next be in action on May 6 when he faces Ronal Batista (15-2, 9 KOs) in the city of Zapopan in his native Mexico.

Cordova at Park Elite Boxing. Photo by Ryan Songalia

Cordova’s win over Acosta earned him a second straight WBO regional belt, and should earn Cordova a top 15 ranking at 112 pounds with the sanctioning body when the new rankings are released. That could make a match-up against new champion Jesse “Bam” Rodriguez (18-0, 11 KOs) easier to put together, but those designs could be complicated by Rodriguez’s injuries.

The 23-year-old southpaw from San Antonio, Tex. had his jaw surgically repaired after it was broken in two places in his title winning effort against Cristian Gonzalez on April 8. Rodriguez fought half the bout with a broken jaw, and wouldn’t be able to fight until at least the end of the year, according to the San Antonio Express-News.

“He’s similar to me. He’s a guy that comes forward, we scrap, keep it in the middle, we’re just very talented. He comes forward and I love that. We’d make it a great fight,” said Cordova, who remains a promotional free agent.

Cordova has an injury of his own to worry about, though it’s admittedly not as serious as the one Rodriguez is mending from.

Cordova suffered a serious cut above his left eye in the third round of his fight against Acosta, and needed about eight stitches to close the wound. The stitches will be taken out next week, and he’s already back in training at Park Elite, where he trains under Percy Gayanilo and Jose Nieves.

Gayanilo says Cordova appears to be much stronger at his new weight, and says they’d love a chance to get in the ring with either of those titleholders.

“He already beat the best guy, a former world champion who can really hit,” said Gayanilo of the ‘Tito’ Acosta fight.

“In Bam’s last fight he struggled and he doesn’t hit nearly as hard as Tito. ‘Rey’ Martinez is probably style wise the best one for us to beat.”

Ryan Songalia has written for ESPN, the New York Daily News, Rappler and The Guardian, and is part of the Craig Newmark Graduate School of Journalism Class of 2020. He can be reached at [email protected].