Eddie Hearn sat down for a softball interview with his crew at Matchroom HQ this morning, and while it produced very little of substance, he did give us one interesting bit of info. Though it’s not done quite yet, Hearn claims he’s “working hard” to finalize Sunny Edwards vs Galal Yafai and hopes to make an announcement “soon.”
Edwards (21-1, 4 KO) bounced back from last year’s loss to Jesse Rodriguez with a technical decision over Adrian Curiel in June, putting himself in prime position to re-enter the title picture and establish a new reign in the post-”Bam” era. He’ll be the highest-rated contender for Angel Ayala Lardizabal when the IBF updates its rankings and will be near the top for the winner of Kenshiro Teraji vs Cristofer Rosales as well.
That said, it’s very understandable that he’d face Yafai (7-0, 5 KO) first. The Tokyo gold medalist is already 31 with over a decade of combined pro/amateur experience; there’s no reason to let this marinate further, especially since (as Hearn points out) they’ve got some bad blood. It’s an easy sell, pitting the UK’s slickest pro against one of its most decorated amateurs.
Whether it’ll be any good to watch is another question entirely. It’s interesting on a conceptual level, at least.