The sweet science of pugilism returns to Birmingham live on DAZN this Saturday, bringing with it a clash so British it could be served with a side of fish and chips. Let’s dive into this flyweight fracas, shall we?
In one corner, we have Galal Yafai, Olympic champion and professional boxing neophyte, strutting into his hometown like a rooster with a shiny new medal. In the other, Sunny Edwards, former world champion and amateur boogeyman to our golden boy.
The Contenders
- Galal “I’ve Got an Olympic Gold, Did I Mention That?” Yafai (8-0, 6 KOs)
- Sunny “I Beat Him Once, I’ll Do It Again” Edwards (21-1, 4 KOs)
A Rivalry as Old as Time (Well, Almost)
Our pugilistic pair have a history that dates back to their amateur days. Edwards, it seems, handed young Yafai his first taste of defeat. Yafai, ever the gracious loser, reminisces:”When I first started boxing, he was one of the first ones that beat me as an amateur, ABA’s at the time – it’s just been brewing since then. It’s not something that I’m that assed about but I’ll say, ‘he beat me on a split decision’.”One can almost feel the nonchalance oozing from his words. It’s clearly water under the bridge, right?
Start Times:
UK Time (GMT)
- Start Time: 4:15 PM
- Prelims: 4:15 PM
- Main Card: 7:00 PM
- Main Event: 10:50 PM
Eastern Time (ET)
- Start Time: 11:15 AM
- Prelims: 11:15 AM
- Main Card: 2:00 PM
- Main Event: 5:50 PM
Confidence: The Breakfast of Champions
Yafai, brimming with the confidence that only an 8-0 professional record can bring, boldly proclaims: “Realistically, I’ve got more chance of knocking him out than he has of me, but anybody can be knocked out, and with those little gloves, everyone punches, so I’ve got to be careful and do things the right way.” Ah yes, the classic “I could knock him out, but I won’t, because I’m careful” strategy. A timeless classic in the world of boxing bravado.
The Prize: A Shiny Belt and Bragging Rights
At stake is the interim WBC World Title, a prestigious piece of leather that’s almost as good as the real thing. The winner gets a shot at the actual world title, which is like being promoted from assistant to the regional manager to assistant regional manager.
The Undercard
As if this main event wasn’t enough to satisfy Birmingham’s boxing fans, the undercard is packed tighter than a tin of Quality Street at Christmas. We’ve got former champions, up-and-comers, and everything in between.
- Sunny Edwards vs. Galal Yafai
- Conah Walker vs. Lewis Ritson; Welterweight
- Kieron Conway vs. Ryan Kelly; for vacant Commonwealth middleweight title
- Cameron Vuong vs. Gavin Gwynne, Lightweight
- Hamza Uddin vs. Benn Norman; Flyweight
- Troy Jones vs. Michael Stephenson, for Jones’s English light heavyweight title
- Aaron Bowen vs. James Todd; Middleweight
- Ibraheem Sulaimaan vs. Marvin Solano; Super featherweight
- Taylor Bevan vs. Greg O’Neil; Super middleweight
- Callum Smith Vs. TBD; Light heavyweight
