“Pride, bragging rights, the family name. We like big fights in boxing, but we love big domestic fights, with a story” –Darren Barker on the DAZN face-off ahead of the massive clash between old amateur foes Sunny ‘showtime’ Edwards (21-1) and Galal Yafai (8-0)
This Saturday(30th November), former IBF world flyweight champion Sunny Edwards goes into enemy territory against a man that he’s beaten before, albeit a long time ago and in the unpaid ranks, it can still have a psychological advantage over the Olympic gold medallist Yafai who heads into the contest with just eight professional outings to date but is the fastest rising male boxer from team GB post the delayed Tokyo games in 2021.
He’s racked up 43 rounds since making his debut in February 2022, he has never been scheduled anything less than eight rounds although going the distance just the once. On his debut against Carlos Vado Bautista (9-4), he fought for the WBC international flyweight title and has since defended it successfully five times, with the last one coming against Agustin Gauto (21-1) in April this year before a keep busy fight in September when he stopped Sergio Oliva(9-8) in the third round.
But now it’s a different kettle of fish; stepping in with Britain’s most technically gifted boxer in Edwards will be demanding. ‘Showtime’ has been in huge fights since winning the IBF version of the world championship against Moruti Mthalane in April 2021 and has boxed 179 rounds since his debut in 2016. Edwards defended his strap four times until last December when he ran into Jesse ‘Bam’ Rodriguez(21-0) in a unification bout at Desert Diamond Arena in Glendale, Arizona, where he was stopped in the ninth round.
Mexican Adrian Curiel (24-6-1) was Sunny’s chosen opponent to get back into the ring following the defeat to Bam, and he showed that his confidence and ring craft haven’t diminished in the slightest. I do not suggest that it would, but history shows how big losses can somewhat affect fighters.
Now, the 112 lbs fighters are with Eddie Hearn and Matchroom. The fight was very simple to make, and with both ranked in the top 5 with the WBC, they will be hoping that there will be possible title implications for the winner, as it is for the WBC interim status.
A mouth-watering contest against the champion Kenshiro Teraji(24-1) will give the Brits extra motivation for this huge domestic clash in what is sure to be a blockbuster main event. With everything at stake, both men plan on leaving it all in the ring.
But forget about titles, family names, and everything else surrounding this matchup. It’s simply about one thing: the competitive nature of each individual. That is ultimately why the rivalry is what it is: both boxers want to prove that they are better than the other.
Where The Rivalry Began
The obvious question has been asked—is it too soon for Galal Yafai to be jumping in with a seasoned former world champion of Sunny’s ilk? The latter thinks not. He knows how good the Birmingham native is from dozens of rounds of sparring and crossing paths in a 2015 ABA semi-final, where their rivalry began.
The split decision win for Edwards created a chain of events that led to him turning over at 20 years of age, repeatedly missing out on opportunities to compete in world and European championships despite consistently winning ABA tournaments and several national titles from the youths right the way through to the seniors. That was a different scenario for brother Charlie, who was chosen and medalled for European games, as was his opponent this Saturday, who was picked ahead of him in one instance despite having that victory over him.
#3 ranked WBC contender Edwards has stated in several interviews that he feels there was favouritism towards Yafai from team GB head coach Rob McCracken, who still coaches the unbeaten flyweight. Galal has shut down Edwards’ claims and says that “he doesn’t care” and that “it’s irrelevant with what he’s achieved in the amateur ranks, winning multiple European championships and gold at the Olympics”.
All this adds to the fire of the fight called ‘BLOODLINE.’ What is sure to be a fight of the year contender, you can watch all of the pre-fight buildup content via the Matchroom boxing YouTube channel, which includes the sit-down face-off with Darren Barker and the ‘making the days count’ episodes.
Change of trainer for Sunny Edwards.
The former IBF champion recently parted ways with long-time trainer Grant Smith at Steel City Gym in Sheffield. Sunny recently revealed in his column for boxing news that there hasn’t been a falling out with Smith “There was no massive fall out per se with Grant Smith, I believe he’s going to be at my fight so there is no issue”. The former world champion has been working alongside Chris Williams of Liverpool ahead of the fight with Yafai. Williams trains current UFC duo Paddy Pimblett and Nathan Fletcher, Cage Warriors lightweight Adam Cullen, along with English flyweight champion Brandon Daord(8-0) and commonwealth flyweight champion Ryan Farrag(23-5), who is a previous opponent of Sunny’s.
For someone who has the such a remarkable skillset and been in the sport for as long as ‘showtime’ has you don’t need to be taught how to box, at this stage of his career it’s about refining his technique and getting a different perspective to what Smith previously gave him. Now it’s time for Edwards to build on their success in a bid to achieve more fortunes in the form of world honours. Does that begin with a win against a long-standing rival this Saturday?
You can watch LIVE on DAZN from 5 pm UK time before the bell with the main card, which is expected to start around 7 pm.
Full undercard:
Co-Main Event: Keiron Conway (21-3-1) vs Ryan Kelly (19-4-1) – Commonwealth middleweight title 12 rounds
Cameron Vuong (6-0) vs Gavin Gwynne (17-3-1) lightweight 10 rounds
Connah Walker (13-3-1) vs Lewis Ritson (23-4) welterweight 10 rounds
Troy Jones (11-0) vs Michael Stephenson (9-2) English light heavyweight title 10 rounds
Hamza Uddin (2-0) vs Benn Norman (7-5) flyweight 8 rounds
Aaron Bowen (3-0) vs James Todd (4-3-2) middleweight 6 rounds
Ibraheem Sulaimaan (5-0) vs Marvin Solano (24-20) super featherweight 6 rounds
Taylor Bevan (debut) vs Greg O’Neill (7-8) super middleweight 6 rounds
Former super middleweight world champion Callum Smith also returns to the card but has not yet been announced as an opponent.
