"I don't really get emotional. My wife will tell you. I've been with her 16 years, and she's probably seen me cry once during that time. I don't get emotional."
Joe Cordina has probably earned the right to play things cool.
After all, since turning professional in 2017, the Olympian has been riding on the crest of a wave that's cascaded over an unbeaten professional career that has arguably already cemented his status as one of Welsh boxing's all-time greats.
In a sport where image and soundbites are often just as much a part of the spectacle as the macabre gladiatorial reality of the ring, a bit of bravado isn't exactly unusual.
But scratch beneath the surface, and it's difficult not to get the impression the 31-year-old is someone who's still hurting.
As he explains, what made the pain of losing his IBF World Super-featherweight title in October so tough to bear was that it happened without a single punch being thrown.
Having won the title by brutally despatching Kenichi Ogawa last June, a victory that extended his winning streak to 15 fights, Joe was due to defend his belt against Tajikistan's Shavkat Rakhimov the following November.
However, a hand injury meant he had to pull out, with the IBF later informing him of the decision to strip him of his title.
"I feel like I've been robbed," was his initial reaction at the time, and it's fair to say the sense of injustice around that decision hasn't diminished five months on.
Indeed, as we sit down ahead of a meet-and-greet with fans at the new flashy, neon-doused JD Sports in Merthyr, he freely admits he considered walking away for good.
"It was hard. I'm not going to lie," he says. "I was in a bit of a bad place. I didn't know if I was going to carry on and I actually thought I was going to call it a day.
"I spoke to my wife, and she told me I'd be fine. I spoke to the surgeon. He also said I'd be fine and back punching in three months.
"So I put all my trust, first in God, then in my surgeon, and I've been back punching. No niggles or anything. Don't get me wrong, I've been at times feeling a bit sore or achey after punching. So I'd have one day on, a couple of days off and so on. It's about building it up. Now I'm at a position where I can punch every day and not feel it and start letting it go.
"But it just felt like I was left on my own."
Redemption arcs aren't always in plentiful supply in this line of work, but when they arrive they're often steep enough to fuel genuine sporting fairytales, and Cordina could hardly have picked a better setting.
After a tortuous wait, he finally has his fight with Rakhimov, who boasts a hugely impressive unbeaten record himself, having won all of his 17 professional fights.
But Cordina has no doubt when he steps out in front of his home crowd at the CIA on April 22, he can put a significant dent in that record, and get his hands on a belt he believes is rightfully his.
"It's gonna feel mad, I'm not gonna lie," he says. "I was in the venue on Friday and it felt a bit surreal. It was empty and I was just looking around, trying to envision everyone there, the whole atmosphere. What it was like back in June and what it's going to be like in April.
"So it was a good feeling to go in there and have a little look around, a little scope.
"When I get back, it's going to be bigger and better than I what I imagined.
"I've got my shot again. In my hometown. It feels like I can't ask for more. It seems like everything's worked out in the end. I've got another shot at the title and for me to become two-time world title champion without losing would be mad.
"I don't think Wales has ever had a two-time world champion. We've had Joe Calzaghe, who's been a world champion for years and years on end. He's Britain's best champion. So for me to be the first to do that would be another box ticked off."
The more Cordina gets into the stride of conversation, the more confident he becomes in outlining his future ambitions, but after perhaps learning a few harsh lessons, he's not taking anything for granted.
Asked what he's expecting from his opponent next month, he says: "He's gonna try to take my head clean off! That's what he's going to try and do.
"He's tough, he's strong, and yeah, he he's going to look to take my head off. But there's two sorts of fighters.
"There's those that think with their heart and what's between their legs. Then there's those that think with both those things and their brain. That's me.
"I think with my brain first and then the rest comes in if I need it. All the great fighters, the Sugar Ray Leonards, the Floyd Mayweathers, they've had tough, dangerous fighters come at them. But they use their head. They box with their brain, and use their ring craft and skill. That's what I plan on doing."
The man known as the Welsh Wizard may well have to produce another magical performance if he's to regain his crown, but one absolute certainty is the level of support that will be behind him when he steps into that ring.
Indeed, anyone at Cardiff City Stadium for the recent Severnside Derby will have seen a snapshot of the adoration Joe receives in his home city.
"I was on the pitch and the Bristol City fans were booing me. I was asked if I had a message for the Bristol City fans. I said 'Yeah. You're gonna get smashed'.
"I had a big cheer for that. I called it at 2-0.
"But for me to go out there and see the support I've got from the City fans, that's great.
"I remember when Neil Warnock was at the club, they were at the fight at the Principality Stadium. I went up there after and we had a photo and a chat.
"I've got that respect for any manager that comes in, but I think big questions need to asked of the big people behind the scenes."
When it comes to football, Joe is clearly as clued up on the goings on at Cardiff City as any fan, and his beaming smile points at the huge pride in his correct matchday prediction.
Football was actually his first love, and he even dreamed of pulling on the blue shirt of his beloved Bluebirds as a youngster. In another life, it's a dream that might well have crystalised into a reality.
After honing his skills alongside his peers on his estate in St Mellons, Joe was, for a brief period, on the books at Cardiff City. But by the age of 11, he soon realised rugby was a better fit. He'd eventually go on to play for Rumney, Cardiff Schools, District, East Wales, and even Cardiff Blues, up until he was 16.
"There was a patch of grass near our estate where we'd have big knocks - well they felt big to us because we were only small.
"When you're in a council estate, everyone's involved. So every kid was either playing football or rugby with us. Because it was a square, we even chucked the boxing gloves on and had it off. It wasn't rounds. It was who gives in, or who had enough."
Cordina paints a picture of a kid that showed little interest in shying away from standing his ground and the subsequent confrontations, but it took some persuading to get him in the ring.
Indeed, his only reason for stepping into the ring at all was to keep his fitness up in rugby's off-season.
"I didn't even want to box to be honest," he continues. "I was always fighting when I was playing rugby. I just didn't take any messing around from anyone, and wouldn't be bullied.
"It ended up me getting sent off a lot, so I had to calm that down and knock it on the head."
Despite his initial reluctance, there were two key sparks that helped to ignite his boxing career. The euphoria of winning - and his dad.
"If my dad said jump off a cliff, then I'm gonna do it. If he told me to jump into fire, I'd do it. I do whatever he says.
"I remember he asked me if I wanted a fight and I just thought 'go on then. I'll have one.'
"That first fight it was at a marquee and I'm looking out through the tent and he's there. I just thought 'Oh my God'. If he wasn't there I would have got my bag and shot off.
"I was scared. I'm not gonna lie.
"I was scared of getting embarrassed. Scared of losing. Scared of letting my family down. My dad down.
"I know he wouldn't have felt like that. He'd be proud regardless of what I do, but it's that fear of losing. I don't like losing. If I lost in FIFA or Call of Duty I'd be the one smashing up the controller!
"That fear of losing is always there in the back of your head on fight night. I don't care who you are. It's always the same. You've just got to get over it. I've been in the ring almost 200 times now amateur and pro.
"But you still sometimes worry about being embarrassed.
"I think that's part of why I've got to where I am. I'm so competitive. When I got my first fight and won it, there was no stopping me then."
Joe's dad now lives in Malta, the country where his own father hails from, but will be back in time for his fight, ready to add his own voice to the thousands of others that will be using their support to try and manifest another famous night in Welsh boxing.
The hope is it won't be the last, either.
A fight at Cardiff City Stadium, in particular, remains an unfulfilled dream.
"There's definitely a fight there for me, I reckon, in the next year or two," he says.
"Whether it's a lightweight, or whether I stay at super-featherweight, or whether it's for unification. I don't know. I don't want to get ahead of myself. But it's a dream of mine.
"I just got to keep ticking the boxes off for myself.
"There's also Cardiff Castle. There's been fights there in the past. So that'd be good."
For now, though, the focus is all on next month, and the opportunity to right a few wrongs.
It's clearly been quite a journey up to this point, one filled with its fair share of ups and downs.
So, if Cordina's hand is raised in victory, will he maybe show a little emotion? Maybe a tear or two?
"When I get my title back, maybe," he says with a wry smile.
"To be honest. I'm saying that, but if they start asking me questions, putting a camera in my face, then it might get me emotional. I don't know!
"But yeah. It's been a hard time. I've overcome it and I'm back in the gym and I'm doing everything I can to bring that title back home."
Joe Cordina was speaking at the new and upsized JD Sports store in Merthyr Tydfil at a fan meet & greet on 5th March 2023.
