On Saturday in Birmingham we shall be handled to a uncommon sight within the UK – two flyweights headlining a major card on British soil. For therefore lengthy the lighter weight divisions have gone below the radar, hidden away on the backside of undercards. Saturday’s bout on the Resorts World Enviornment has the potential to deliver consideration to the little guys, who’re simply as succesful within the ring as their bigger counterparts.
The battle between Sunny Edwards and Galal Yafai is an intriguing one – with the WBC “interim” title at stake the winner is unquestionably assured a shot on the full championship. Whereas there isn’t any unhealthy blood between Edwards and Yafai, there’s a number of historical past. They’ve been rivals ever since they donned the GB Boxing vest and their brothers Charlie Edwards and Kal Yafai have been in talks to combat for what appeared like a lifetime. This has put Sunny and Galal on a collision course to lastly settle their beginner dispute and commerce blows not only for themselves, however for his or her households.
Their rivalry stems again to the pair’s time with Crew GB, Yafai was the golden boy on the squad, chosen for Olympic qualifiers – one thing Edwards didn’t agree with after beating Yafai within the nationwide championships. They then went in several instructions, each discovering success. Edwards turned his again on Crew GB and took the skilled route, profitable a world title; Yafai caught round and was topped Olympic champion at Tokyo 2020.
They’ve been common sparring companions through the years, and if what each are saying is true about these spars, we’re in for a implausible contest.
This actually is a “decide’em” combat – each have the instruments to win however there are such a lot of unanswered questions surrounding each. How a lot has the beating by Jesse “Bam” Rodriguez taken out of Edwards? The previous champion’s solely loss got here by the hands of the pound-for-pound star. So typically Edwards mesmerizes his opponents along with his fancy footwork, however he was unable to mesmerize Rodriguez. Will Yafai have the identical impact?
Yafai is a relative novice within the skilled ranks, with solely eight contests in comparison with Edwards’ 22. Is it too quickly for Yafai or is it time to roll the cube? The gold medalist is not getting any youthful; he could also be brief on skilled expertise, however he’s really the 28-year-old Edwards’ senior, at 31.
It appears seemingly that Edwards dances across the ring all night time and walks away with a lopsided choice victory. It additionally appears seemingly that Yafai will use his aggressive strain to power Edwards to commerce, and in the end profitable a choice and even getting a stoppage.
Edwards’ greatest attribute is his awkwardness; his footwork so typically makes him a puzzle that his opponents fail to unravel. That, nevertheless, could also be his downfall. Yafai’s ft are quick, and he has labored out so many troublesome Cubans and Kazakhs on the beginner boxing circuit. Yafai will look to press the motion as he so typically has in his eight contests, and his aggressive model has thus far earned him six stoppages. The relentless tempo Yafai units leaves his opponents struggling to maintain up, and so they so typically succumb to his mixture punching.
Edwards has mentioned that he plans to power a firefight with Yafai, and certainly that can solely play towards him. Yafai has proven that his greatest work is up-close to his opponents, the place he can discover a residence for his blistering mixtures. If Edwards sits and trades with Yafai then there’s certainly just one fighter who will get the higher of the exchanges.
