Galal Yafai on the sparring that taught him what Sunny Edwards was ‘all about’

Galal Yafai believes that his amateur boxing experience will hold him in good stead when he faces the tricky customer that is Sunny Edwards on November 30.

Yafai, an Olympic gold medal winner at Tokyo 2020, will take on Edwards for the WBC interim flyweight title in Birmingham. This, however, will not be the first time the pair have shared a ring with each other after first squaring off a decade ago in an ABA semifinal. Edwards walked away the winner that day and the pair went on to share countless rounds together during their time with Team GB.

It was on the GB boxing squad where their rivalry first took shape. Yafai was picked ahead of Edwards to go to a 2016 Olympic qualifier, a decision that Edwards feels was unfair because he had beaten his rival in the vest. Edwards then took a different route and turned professional, winning the IBF flyweight title while Yafai competed at the Rio and Tokyo Olympic games. Now the pair get the chance to face each other again, this time with a world title shot in 2025 on the line.

“I’ve known Sunny for a long time now, so there’s a lot of history and what not,” Yafai told BoxingScene. “To be fair, he’s quite respectful, but I’m waiting for him to try something, and I can just jump over. It’s good, it builds a fight, there’s a lot of history, people are interested. It’s down to us now to put on a show, it’s down to me to win.

“When he beat me in the amateurs, he beat me on a split decision,” he continued. “I pretty much won the fight. But yeah, it’s when he beat me, then we had that rivalry, we got into GB, we started sparring more and more. I improved a lot, I got better, I went to the Olympics. He thought he should have gone to the Olympics, he became a pro, he won the world title, I won the Olympic gold. We’ve just been on our own paths, but he’s done his part of the bargain, I did my part of the bargain so now we can meet in the middle and it can be a big fight. I’ve just got to win it.”

Edwards has been seen by many of his opponents as a puzzle that can’t be solved – unless you’re Jesse ‘Bam’ Rodriguez. His fast feet and movement often leave fighters bewildered and punching air. However, this is not something Yafai is worried about after his experience sparring the former world champion.

“It was good sparring; it was 50-50 sparring,” he said. “Sunny’s a good fighter. I’m not just going to batter him. But there were good spars in the case where I could see what he was all about. I know fighting and sparring is different. Sunny knows that I’m a serious fighter. We’ve sparred loads of rounds. If anyone’s shared a lot of rounds with me, it’s Sunny. Whether people don’t, or they think it’s too soon or whatnot, he knows. So, we’ll see on November 30.

“I’ve sparred him loads so I’m used to his style now,” he continued. “Sunny’s got a bit of an amateur style; he’s on the back foot and whatnot. I’m used to fighting them back foot fighters as amateurs who are probably a little bit more awkward. But we’ll see on fight night. I’ve got to be the best I can be. The best Galal should beat the best Sunny. But I’ve just got to be the best as I can be, and if I’m not good enough, then I’m not good enough.”

Yafai achieved what many only can dream of when he secured his gold medal at Tokyo 2020 with a standout performance against Carlo Paalam. Yafai now has a taste for glory and wants to achieve what only fellow Brits, James DeGale, Anthony Joshua, Nicola Adams and Lauren Price have done – winning both an Olympic gold and a world title.

“Being world champion is the only thing that there is to do,” said Yafai. “That’s something I want to do. I know there’s not many people that have been both world and Olympic champion. I think there’s like two or three. So, if I can be in that list, then it’s a big thing for me.”