Yafai shines as he dominates Edwards, sends him into retirement
2020 Olympic gold medalist impressively scores a sixth-round knockout to win vacant WBC interim flyweight title
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As Sunny Edwards sat on the stool after the second round against Galal Yafai, he said something astonishing in his corner.
Edwards, who had a rough first two rounds, told his new trainer, Chris Williams, “Can I be real with you? I don’t even want to be in here.”
Williams yelled at him to stop feeling sorry for himself about the difficult start and to bite down on his gum shield and give it everything he had.
Edwards appeared to do just that for the next several rounds but it was not nearly enough against a superb Yafai, who was relentless en route to a one-sided sixth-round knockout in the main event of the Matchroom Boxing card on Saturday on DAZN at the BP Pulse LIVE in Birmingham, England, Yafai’s hometown.
“You saw the difference between someone at the back end of their career and someone at the start of their career,” Matchroom Boxing promoter Eddie Hearn said. “It was an unbelievable, ice cold performance from Galal Yafai.
“I don’t even think he was breathing (hard) when the fight was stopped. It was the difference between the new guard coming though, a very special fighter. It was an incredible performance. He’s going to be around for a long time.”
Yafai, who claimed the vacant WBC interim flyweight title and set himself up for a possible shot at WBC full titlist Kenshiro Teraji (24-1, 15 KOs), 32, of Japan, and Edwards had sparred hundreds of rounds with each other in the amateurs as members of the Great Britain national team. Edwards also defeated Yafai in their one official amateur fight in 2015.
But in the pros, Yafai impressively avenged that loss. The 2020 Olympic gold medalist, who is on the fast track as a pro because he is already 31, ran roughshod over the younger but diminished Edwards, who announced his retirement from boxing in the ring after the fight, which had been a long time coming given their amateur connection.
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