Sunny Edwards vs Galal Yafai Predictions: Fly boys get a chance to show their skills

Sunny Edwards takes on Galal Yafai in a real flyweight superfight this Saturday, November 30 at the BP Pulse Arena in Birmingham. The fight headlines in Yafai’s hometown, with the vacant WBC interim title on the line. DAZN will screen the action, with an undercard that includes the return of former world super middleweight kingpin Callum Smith.

Here are my Edwards vs Yafai predictions ahead of this enticing match-up.

This fight is not normal. Both men have taken a brave step to put this intriguing flyweight attraction on. The sort of steps that are rare in the often-safe world of modern professional boxing.

For Yafai, he makes a mammoth step-up in class. This is just his ninth fight and he takes on a man who has built a reputation as one of the finest flyweights on the planet. Edwards might have lost his IBF title to the irrepressible Jesse ‘Bam’ Rodriguez, but he remains an absolute force. That much was clear when he beat Adrian Curiel last time out. 

Edwards risks his immense reputation and lofty ranking, number one in many quarters, to face an unbeaten Olympic gold medalist who is firmly on the rise. Sunny is three years younger than Galal, who stayed longer in the amateur ranks in order to triumph at Tokyo 2020. Despite being the younger man, Edwards has more to lose in terms of reputation and standing with a defeat to comparative novice pro Yafai.

In reality though, novice pro is nonsense when applied to the 31-year-old Brummie. As elite as they come as an amateur, Yafai’s Olympic medal sits alongside Commonwealth gold as well as a raft of European medals. He is far from the only elite amateur to take big fights early on, with more and more top fighters waiting later to start their paid careers before moving quicker when they do reach the pros.

This speed of progression is evident when you take into account the lack of journeymen on Yafai’s record. He has never boxed a fighter with a losing record as a professional. Instead, he has been fighting for ranking belts against tough men right from the very start. Steel sharpens steel and Yafai has been showing plenty of mettle.

Edwards is still an entirely different proposition. A young former world champion who still feels so fresh. A brazen talker who has done so much to shine a light on this oft-unappreciated division. This isn’t an up-and-comer taking on an ex-champion past their prime. This is an Olympic standout facing one of the very best in the world.

This is what is so refreshing about this fight. Timing is everything and this has the feel of a fight coming at the perfect time. Both men are risking a lot. The doorway to world titles is wide open at the conclusion of this, not least because the interim WBC belt on the line essentially makes a fight with full champ Kenshiro Teraji a necessity. 

In terms of the form guide, that is slightly skewed by their respective levels. Edwards was knocked out by Rodriguez two fights ago, but then ‘Bam’ appears on every pound-for-pound list worth its salt. The Curiel win last time out shows that this is still a fighter operating at the peak of his powers.

Yafai has mixed with tough, reliable men. Agustin Mauro Gauto has mixed at world level and the Birmingham man stopped him in eight rounds. Rocco Santomauro is a tricky gatekeeper but Yafai outpointed him. What we have seen looks good, but now its time to find out about Yafai at elite level.

Edwards vs Yafai Fight Odds

Yafai is the underdog for the first time in his pro career at 6/5. Sunny is 8/11 to get this done while the draw is 14/1.

Edwards vs Yafai Full Card

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Edwards vs Yafai Prediction

Pass. What do you mean I’m not allowed to do that? Okay let’s break it down.

Edwards has promised a war here but as convincing as his rhetoric always is, I don’t believe him. I think Sunny will look to use the slickness, shot selection and evasiveness that made him a world champion in the first place.

Yafai likes to pressure and I think he will have some success doing so. He is a very hard man to stay away from for 12 rounds.

A lot has been made of the fighting families here, with Edwards’ elder brother Charlie a former world champion while Gamal Yafai is a former European king and his brother Kal held the WBA super flyweight crown. Their brothers can’t fight for them and this comes down to Sunny vs Galal.

At this stage of their respective careers, I’ll take Edwards on points at 10/11. But don’t be surprised if we see a rematch of this one, perhaps when Galal has a little more pro seasoning.

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