Galal Yafai (9-0, 7 KOs) destroyed a smaller, weaker Sunny Edwards (21-2, 4 KOs), knocking him out in the sixth round to win the WBC interim flyweight title on Saturday night at the Resorts World Arena in Birmingham, England.
(Credit: Mark Robinson/Matchroom Boxing)
Yafai, 31, unleashed a barrage of punches against a trapped Edwards in the ropes in the sixth round, resulting in the referee stepping in to stop the fight. The time of the stoppage was 1:10 on the sixth.
The 2020 Olympic gold medalist Yafai looked much bigger than Edwards and did a lot of shoving to force Sunny against the ropes.
“If I’m honest, win, lose, or draw, I’m retiring tonight. I put so much in the first six, seven years of my career,” said Edwards. “For the first time ever, I’ve been thinking outside of the ring. If I was him, I would class myself as a world champion.
“He just beat the best man in the division. I achieved what I set out for. When you don’t have the same fire in your belly, you come up with someone who wants to do it. All the way,” said Edwards when asked how far he thinks Yafai can go.
Undercard results
– Welterweight Conah Walker (14-3-1, 5 KOs) dominated veteran Lewis Ritson (23-5, 13 KOs), defeating him by a one-sided ten-round unanimous decision in the co-feature contest. The scores were 98-93, 97-93 and 97-93. I had it 10-0 for Walker.
Ritson didn’t do enough to win any rounds. Although he did land some big shots here and there, Walker machine-gunned him the entire night. Walker didn’t show much power, but he was so busy that he didn’t need to.
Neither of these guys is world-class, so it wasn’t the most captivating fight to watch. Even someone like Conor Benn, a fringe-level fighter, would have done a number on both of these guys.
– Kieron Conway (22-3-1, 6 KOs) edged Ryan Kelly (19-5-1, 8 KOs), winning a 12-round split decision to capture the Commonwealth middleweight title.
The scores
116-112: Conway
115-114: Kelly
115-113: Conway
– Lightweight prospect Cameron Vuong (7-0, 3 KOs) defeated Gavin Gwynne (17-4-1, 5 KOs) by a grueling, tougher-than-expected 10-round unanimous Decision. The scores were 96-95, 97-94 and 96-94.
Gwynne, 34, landed many heavy shots on the 22-year-old Vuong and never let him alone in the ten-round contest. Gwynne suffered cuts under both eyes. For his part, Vuong was bruised around his eyes and looked like he’d been through a lot.
Vuong’s performance showed that he would need to make drastic improvements to one day be a contender in the lightweight division.
– Troy Jones (12-0, 6 KOs) retained his BBBofC English light heavyweight title with a 10-round unanimous Decision win over Michael Stephenson (9-3). The scores were 98-91, 98-91 and 97-93. Jones, 26, used his volume punching to outwork Stephenson to get the decision. Neither guy could punch, but Jones got the better of the action with his high work rate.
– Aaron Bowen (29-5, 4 KOs) had to get up off the deck to come on to score a fifth-round knockout win over James Todd (4-4-2) in super middleweight action. Bowen dominated most of the fight but was dropped by a left hook to the head in the second round.
In the fifth, Bowen, 25, knocked Todd down with a left to the body. Referee Pete McCormack then counted out the 36-year-old Todd. The time of the stoppage was at 1:46.
“It was a tougher fight than I anticipated. I switched off. I’ve got a lot to learn. I’ll be so much better the next time,” said Bowen after the fight. The crowd definitely helped. I’m going to prove to Eddie and all those who support me that I’m going to go all the way.”
“He’s a massive ticket-seller. I saw him fight Taylor Bevin in the Commonwealth. That was the best Before The Bell fight I’ve ever seen,” said Eddie Hearn. “Those are the kinds of lessons that are going to bring you so much rather than going through one or three rounds.
“All of these guys should be reaching the British and Commonwealth. He’s got to be better, but he will be.”
– Super featherweight Ibraheem ‘Spider’ Sulaimaan (6-0, 4 KOs) destroyed Marvin Solano (24-21, 8 KOs) by a second-round knockout of a six-round contest. Sulaimaan, 23, dropped Solano with a left to the midsection in round two. Referee Peter McCormack then halted the contest. The time was at 2:54 of the round.
– Light heavyweight prospect Taylor Bevan (1-0, 1 KO) knocked out Greg O’Neill (7-9-1, 1 KO) in the second round in his debut. The heavy-handed Bevan dropped O’Neill hard with headshots. Referee Peter McCormack stopped the contest at 2:40 of the second.
“I think this young man has everything it takes to go. I think we have the best stable in world boxing,” said Eddie Hearn, reacting to the 23-year-old Bevan’s win. “We want to make sure he boxes six or eight times a year. Tonight was about the beginning of the journey for what I believe is a future world champion. This kid is going to be a star.
– Callum Smith (30-2, 22 KOs) destroyed veteran Carlos Galvan (20-5-2, 19 KOs) in the fifth round of a Cruiserweight contest. The two fighters had weighed in over the light heavyweight limit at Friday’s weigh-in.
Smith, 34, started slow but came on strong in the fourth round to drop Galvan with a short left Hook to the head. In the fifth round, Smith dropped Galvan with a powerful left Hook to the body. Moments later, Smith sent Galvan down for a second time with a left to the midsection. This time, the referee, Kevin Parker, waived it off. The time of the stoppage was at 1:19 of round five.
“I need fights. I hadn’t fought in 11 months. I wanted to be in a position to go into one of those fights,” said Callum Smith after the fight. “I’m ready for anyone in the position. He seemed to be more dangerous after I dropped him.
“I was loading up a bit. I’m fully confident that I have what it takes to rise to the top. I’ve always been motivated by achievements. I’ve always been motivated to be the best. My motivation has always been belts. It’s a very good division, and I believe on my day, I can beat anyone on the planet. Joshua Buatsi and Benavidez, they are the two.”
“He’s already secured himself financially. He still has goals he wants to achieve,” said Eddie Hearn about Callum Smith. “He’s still fresh. To do five hard rounds. That was good work tonight. He got hit a few times, but that will do him well for next year. It’s great to see him back.”
Edwards-Yafai wants to get a world title shot against WBC flyweight champion Kenshiro Teraji. The ideal way to win that belt is for the champion to vacate it, and the winner of the Edwards vs. Yafai fight tonight would be elevated.
The event will be shown from the World Arena in Birmingham, England. Sunny vs. Yafai will fight at approximately 5:00 p.m. ET.
2:00 p.m. ET on DAZN – Main Card
Sunny Edwards vs. Galal Yafai
Conah Walker vs. Lewis Ritson
Kieron Conway vs. Ryan Kelly
Cameron Vuong vs. Gavin Gwynne
Hamza Uddin vs. Benn Norman
Former WBA super middleweight champion Callum Smith’s fight against Carlos Galvan wasn’t placed on the main card for some reason despite him being the most known of any fighter and more talented. Smith-Galvan is scheduled for eight rounds, and it’s viewed as a tune-up. It’s expected to be a one-sided fight with Smith destroying Galvan, but still, that match is more appealing to the average fan than any of the undercard fights.
Sunny Edwards fights Galal Yafai for the WBC interim flyweight title at the top of the card tonight live on DAZN. The event starts at 2:00 p.m. ET. Edwards (21-1, 4 KOs), still reeling from his ninth-round knockout loss last year, will attempt to put himself in position to fight for the main WBC 112-lb belt.
