Sunny Edwards vs Galal Yafai: Who will be crowned WBC interim flyweight champion in Birmingham?

Sunny Edwards vs Galal Yafai: full fight card

• Sunny Edwards vs Galal Yafai – for vacant WBC interim world flyweight title
• Cameron Vuong vs Gavin Gwynne
• Conah Walker vs Lewis Ritson
• Kieron Conway vs Ryan Kelly – for Commonwealth middleweight title
• Hamza Uddin vs Ben Norman
• Troy Jones vs Michael Stephenson – for the English light heavyweight title
• Callum Smith vs Carlos Galvin
• Aaron Bowen vs James Todd
• Ibraheem Sulaimaan vs Marvin Solano
• Taylor Bevan vs Greg O’Neil

British boxing’s longstanding flyweight rivalry will be settled on Saturday night in Birmingham as Sunny Edwards and Galal Yafai go head-to-head for the vacant WBC interim flyweight title. It’s a competitive rivalry that stretches back to their amateur days.

Back in 2015 in the amateur ranks, Edwards defeated Yafai by split decision but Yafai’s coach was selecting the Team GB roster for the 2016 Olympic Games and he picked Yafai for the team that went to Rio de Janeiro.

It’s a decision that still rankles Edwards to this day. Yafai only made it to the round of 16 in Rio but returned five years later to capture Olympic gold at the postponed games in Tokyo. 

By then, Edwards had turned professional and captured many titles at British, European, international and intercontinental level. He then captured the IBF flyweight crown in 2021.

Yafai turned pro the following February and quickly rose through the flyweight ranks, as talk of a future fight with Edwards started to grow. 

Now, with Yafai holding the WBC international flyweight belt and undefeated at 8-0, he’ll face 21-1 former IBF champ Edwards in a huge bout that goes beyond just wins and losses. This one has plenty of history behind it and it should deliver a superb clash for the fans in Birmingham on Saturday night.

Tale of the tape: Sunny Edwards vs Galal Yafai

Sunny Edwards: Can ‘Showtime’ become a two-time champion?

After missing out on his Olympic dream as an amateur, Sunny Edwards turned pro and hasn’t looked back since. Amassing a 15-0 record, he captured the IBF world title by dethroning South Africa’s Mooruti Mthalane at the York Hall. 

Four title defences followed before he was toppled by pound-for-pound star and WBO champion Jesse ‘Bam’ Rodriguez in a unification bout in Glendale, Arizona last December. 

The bout saw Edwards suffer orbital bone fractures and required him to take an extended break in the first part of 2024 but he returned in top form against Adrian Curiel in Phoenix in June and was ahead on the scorecards when the fight was cut short by a nasty cut on Edwards, sustained following an accidental clash of heads. 

The scores of 90-82, 88-84 and 87-85 ensured that Edwards’ return to action was a victorious one and put him straight back into championship contention.

Now set to face a familiar foe, he heads into the bout with double motivation as he will not only look to capture his second flyweight world title. But also put to bed the longstanding rivalry with Yafai, who took the Olympic spot Edwards believed should have been his back in 2016.

Galal Yafai: Can he rise to the occasion in his biggest pro fight to date?

Galal Yafai has been nothing short of superb since his switch from the amateur to the professional and his unblemished 8-0 record demonstrates that he still hasn’t reached his peak just yet. 

After building his career steadily, Yafai will now jump into a 12-round title fight for the first time in his career and it begs the big question: is Yafai ready for that step up?

Edwards certainly thinks so, while the competitive rivalry between the pair is clearly there, so too is the respect for each other’s abilities. They’ve shared the ring for 100s of sparring rounds and have competed against each other in amateur competition. But now, heading into their bout on November 30, it’s Edwards who holds the significant experience advantage.

Yafai’s talents are obvious but he isn’t as seasoned at this level heading into this fight. As he admitted himself, Edwards has won a world title, had multiple title defences and boxed several 12-round bouts. While this weekend’s bout will be Yafai’s first 12-rounder.

Sunny Edwards vs Galal Yafai: The key factors

When looking at the pair, in terms of pure boxing ability, both are outstanding but two factors could prove the deciding factor on fight night, with each man holding a crucial advantage over the other.

For Yafai, his advantage would appear to be in his punch power. Over his eight career wins as a pro, six have come via knockout, including each of his last two. That knockout ratio compares favourably with Edwards, who has stopped just four of his 21 career wins.

But, if you’re not getting the stoppage, you have to battle to the scorecards and that takes skill, guts and a gas tank that doesn’t run dry in the middle rounds. 

In that regard, Edwards holds a significant edge when it comes to fighting over the full championship duration. He’s gone the full 12 rounds seven times in his career and has claimed the decision victory on each occasion. Contrast that with Yafai, who has fought just eight times as a pro, all over the 10-round course and has gone the distance just twice. 

It highlights his ability to finish fights inside the distance. But, when you’re in the ring with world-class opposition, the finishes don’t come so easily and Yafai may be asked to dig deeper than he’s ever done before in order to earn the victory on Saturday night.

That experience advantage extends beyond mere rounds, too. Edwards knows what it’s like to fight in a professional world title fight. He’s done it seven times. He’s faced more opponents, more fighting styles and since reaching championship level, Edwards has dragged every one of them into deep water.

Yafai looks like he has all the tools to make it to the top, while Edwards has already proved that he does. It’s a tough one to call and it makes for an absolutely fascinating matchup.

FIRST’s top tip for Sunny Edwards vs Galal Yafai

In a fight between two well-matched fighters who are well-known to each other, the best play is to go with what’s already known.

We know that Edwards is a veteran of world title fights and the 12-round, 36-minute distance and we also know that Yafai hasn’t ever been in that deep water in a pro fight. Edwards’ average fight time in the pros is more than 24 minutes, while Yafai’s is less than 16.

That gap in experience, both in terms of the rounds but also in terms of world title fight experience, gives the edge to Edwards. 

The value pick might be a small gamble on Yafai but I’m leaning towards Edwards’ experience winning the day. But, regardless of the result, I don’t think this will be the only time we see these two share a boxing ring in the next couple of years.

PICK: SUNNY EDWARDS TO WIN BY DECISION – 20/21 (bet365)

Extra tips

If you prefer to back the stopping power of Yafai, rather than the championship-rounds experience of Edwards, there’s value to be had.

bet365 is offering a 'bet boost' where you can back Yafai to get the victory via TKO, KO or disqualification and the fight to go under 10.5 rounds for enhanced odds of 15/2.

Odds correct at the time of writing.