Ex-boxing champion Joe Cordina thanks fans after being acquitted of assault, with judge ruling petrol station punch was self-defence

Joe Cordina has expressed gratitude to supporters after being cleared of assault, following a ruling by District Judge Charlotte Murphy that Jamie O'Brien, 33, carried out a 'deliberate assault' by shoulder-barging Cordina to the chest and chin. O'Brien had already pleaded guilty to assault by beating. The clash in Pentwyn came just two weeks after police warned Cordina of a threat to his life. The judge called his response 'a single, measured, controlled punch'.

The February incident got Cordina, 34, refused entry to the US for a WBO title fight.

Cordina thought O'Brien was a fan wanting a photo: 'I make time for everybody.'

'He had his hands in his pockets, I don't know what people carry.'