This time last year, Sunny Edwards was on his way to the United States for a world title unification bout, and Galal Yafai was a five-fight novice. A year can be a long time boxing game.
Yafai has now gone eight fights without defeat, Edwards lost his world title and on Saturday night in Birmingham they meet in the best British flyweight fight in decades.
The brief period in the 1980s when Duke McKenzie, Dave “Boy” McAuley and Charlie Magri shared rings for world and British title fights is a distant memory. Since then, quality fighters like Robbie Regan and Jason Booth have fought for various flyweight belts, but there hasn’t been the same type of fierce rivalry. Edwards and Yafai are a very special fight on many levels. This is the best heavyweight fight in Britain for almost 40 years.
Last December in Phoenix, Edwards was stopped in the ninth round by the brilliant Jesse “Bam” Rodriguez in a bold attempt to add the WBO title to the IBF version he already held. On the undercard that night, Yafai was in only his sixth fight, but it was another 10 rounds, another step in the direction of the fast track. He then pursued Edwards.
In the summer of 2021, at the delayed Tokyo Olympics, Yafai won the flyweight gold medal with a series of brilliant victories. His five-game winning streak for gold may well be the best ever by a British amateur boxer. He turned professional six months later in a tough 10-round fight; the quality of his opponents remained high and his progression was ridiculously fast. Yafai is three years older than Edwards and his professional career began later, after he decided to remain a member of the British boxing team after the Rio Olympics. However, he is the “kid” in this fight; Edwards likes long, complicated and intelligent fights. Yafai has yet to compete in a fight like the one he will have on Saturday.
After the gold medal, Yafai spent several weeks behind closed doors in a Sheffield gym, helping Edwards prepare for a world title fight. There are no real fight stories, no fake stories of knockouts or domination of one boxer or the other. They met in 2015, when they were both amateurs, and Edwards earned a split decision; he was more seasoned by this time, but Yafai was on the cusp of an international streak that would take him to Rio and beyond. Edwards had his eyes on that Rio vest, but he’s not bitter.
They are both under immense pressure to win, the type of pressure that always seems to shape a quality domestic fight. Edwards, at just 28 years old, is far from done, and Yafai, who is 31, is still fresh in the professional world. It’s a grudge match without any unnecessary hatred: a real fight, and the winner will also leave the ring with the WBC interim flyweight title. The debate over interim belts is tricky and tedious: they are often useless, but they can be upgraded to a full title if the champion retires, moves up in weight, or simply vacates the title. The belt will just be a piece of jewelry at ringside Saturday night, an extra prize for the winner.
Edwards won the IBF flyweight title in 2021, made four defenses and went the full 12-round distance seven times. Yafai practiced the full 10 laps seven times, but only completed that distance twice. Saturday’s fight takes place at the championship distance of 12. That obviously suits Edwards, but it’s hard to imagine Yafai tiring and floundering over the final two rounds – if the fight goes that far or remains close at this point .
This fight is not about trinkets, it’s about pride and history. The type of flyweight fighting that has been sorely missed in a glamorous industry dominated by so many big men. Sunny and Galal will restore order and remind people how good little men can be when the best meets the best. A year can certainly be a very, very long time in boxing.
