Yafai vs Gauto Predictions: Galal moves closer to superstardom

World-ranked flyweight Galal Yafai returns to the ring this Saturday April 6 when he takes on Agustin Gauto. Yafai’s WBC international flyweight title is on the line in Las Vegas as the Brit looks to fortify his world ranking with a seventh career victory. DAZN televise the fight on the undercard of Richardson Hitchins vs Gustavo Daniel Lemos. Here are my Yafai vs Gauto predictions as the Birmingham man takes one step closer to a world title shot.

Fighters don’t usually land in the rankings of all four world governing bodies after six fights. But Yafai is particularly special. An Olympic and Commonwealth gold medalist, the amateur standout is in no mood to hang around. Aged 31, it makes sense that he has foregone a long professional apprenticeship in favour of taking fights that matter. This weekend’s bout is certainly one of those.

Gauto has lost just once in 22 fights, albeit he was knocked out in the second round on that occasion. But he still carries a far more formidable record than most six-fight novices have to deal with. 

Often you see fighters turn up in bouts like this with fine records on paper but with telltale signs littered throughout their ledger. A common example is a fighter who has never fought outside their homeland before. But Gauto has boxed in Panama, Mexico, Germany and Dubai as well as his native Argentina. It is hard to envision Las Vegas doing much to unsettle ‘El Avion’.

Yafai won’t be fazed by the locale either. The Birmingham man has thus far enjoyed an even split of fights at home and abroad. In addition to three domestic outings, the Olympian has fought in the famed Madison Square Garden in New York along with bouts in Arizona and Dubai.

This globetrotting feels appropriate for a fighter who looks set to take on the world. You imagine another great leap forward should he get the job done here. Time is of the essence. The lower weights are particularly cruel to fighters beyond 30. If Yafai is going to channel all his undoubted ability into a world belt or two, the time is now.

Gauto will provide little obstacle to those ambitions. He is game but limited. The knockout he suffered at the hands of Miel Fajardo casts doubts on his durability. Yafai has enough power to test Gauto’s staying power.

It is a test I feel Gauto will ultimately fail. Yafai is too boxing-literate, too smart and too powerful for the Argentine to emerge victorious. It would take something he has hitherto never demonstrated in order to unseat the Brit. 

I feel Yafai will secure the stoppage during the first half of the fight. He is capable of doing so very early. Just ask Tommy Frank, who couldn’t last a round with him. I’m going for a similarly-brief outing for Yafai this time out. My prediction is Yafai to win by knockout, a selection priced at 1/2.

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