Birmingham, England, is Galal Yafai’s hometown – and it’s where the Olympic gold medalist will face former flyweight titleholder Sunny Edwards on Nov. 30.
But don’t tell Edwards that the Resorts World Arena is the so-called lion’s den.
“I disagree,” Edwards told iFL TV. “I know I’ve got more people in Birmingham than him, in my opinion. I was there [at] his last show. When I boxed in Sheffield [against Felix Alvarado in 2022], I sold over 100, 150 tickets to people from Birmingham. That’s like one of my second cities. I’ve spent a lot of time there. I’ve got a big network there. I’ve got a lot of Birmingham support – much more than people think.”
Edwards, a 31-year-old from London, won a world title in the 112-pound weight class in April 2021, outpointing Moruti Mthalane. Edwards made four successful defenses before losing a unification bout to Jesse “Bam” Rodriguez, stopped in the ninth round in December 2023.
Edwards returned in June, taking a cut-shortened technical decision over Adrian Curiel to move to 21-1 (4 KOs). That fight was the second of two consecutive appearances in Arizona for Edwards. This will be his first bout back in the U.K. since June 2023.
“I didn’t want it per se in Birmingham. I wasn’t petitioning for Birmingham,” Edwards said. “But the fight, there was zero chance it was happening where I wanted, which was Sheffield. There was no negotiation on that from their side. They had to go to Birmingham. so we’ve got Birmingham. I was never really too bothered about it. I just asked for one condition: Matchroom helped give [a fighter I manage] an opportunity that he desperately needs, and they’re working on it.”
Yafai is 31 years old as well, and is 8-0 (6 KOs). He triumphed in the 2020/2021 Olympics, then turned pro in 2022. In recent outings, Yafai outpointed the 22-2 Rocco Santomauro last December, stopped the 21-1 Agustin Gauto in eight rounds in April and then won a stay-busy fight this past weekend, dispatching the 9-8 Sergio Orozco Oliva in three rounds.
David Greisman, who has covered boxing since 2004, is on Twitter @FightingWords2 and @UnitedBoxingPod. He is the co-host of the United Boxing Podcast. David’s book, “Fighting Words: The Heart and Heartbreak of Boxing,” is available on Amazon.