Yafai puts on masterclass to beat Edwards

Galal Yafai has won all nine of his professional bouts

Olympic champion Galal Yafai put on a masterclass to beat long-term rival Sunny Edwards and win the interim WBC flyweight title.

Yafai dominated for six rounds before the referee stepped in to halt the action at BP Pulse Live in Birmingham.

Edwards, who reigned as IBF flyweight champion between 2021 and 2023, announced his retirement post-fight.

The victory extends Yafai's unblemished record to nine victories, with seven of those wins coming inside the distance - and it puts him in line for a shot at WBC champion Kenshiro Teraji in 2025.

"It means everything to me," Yafai told DAZN.

"I think people underrate me. I won Olympic gold. It was my night tonight.

"Winning gold in the Olympics was the best achievement I could ever do but beating Sunny tonight was a better feeling that standing on that podium."

Edwards beat Yafai when they met as amateurs in 2015 but was unable to match the intensity of his opponent in the Midlands.

The Londoner retires with 21 wins and two defeats on his record.

"Win, lose or draw I was always going into the sunset," Edwards told BBC Radio 5 Live.

"This was the last thing I wanted to do, fight Galal, but I left a few clues with my posts on social media 'the last dance'.

"My body is falling apart, I've got bad ankles, wrists, shoulders, back, everything is bad about me. It has been a hard career with the wear and tear on my body."

Yafai lives up to the hype

Sunny Edwards beat Galal Yafai by split-decision when they met as amateurs in 2015

Yafai, long touted as a future world champion after collecting gold at the 2020 Olympics, did not take the opportunity to soak up the cheers from the majority of the 5,000 in attendance in his home city of Birmingham as he raced down the ramp and into the ring.

Some have questioned the quality of his previous opponents and there was no doubt that facing Edwards was a huge step up, but he exuded confidence from the first bell and overwhelmed his rival for every second of every round.

Both fighters promised fireworks in the build-up but only one managed to deliver on that promise, with Yafai exploding out of the blocks.

Yafai, fighting in Birmingham for the first time since August 2023, displayed the full catalogue of shots, working head and body seamlessly and denying Edwards any breathing space in the ring.

Edwards could be heard telling his trainer "I don't want to be here" in between rounds.

He struggled to find his rhythm and when he did manage to land heavy with a right, Yafai stopped, shook his head and smiled.

The pair both come from fighting families with Edwards' brother Charlie a previous holder of the WBC flyweight belt, while Yafai's brothers Kal and Gamal were WBA super-flyweight and European super-bantamweight champions respectively.

There was tension between their siblings, with Charlie, Kal and Gamal involved in several public disputes, including throughout fight week and in the locker room in the hours before the main event.

But the relationship between Sunny and Galal has always been respectful and that was evident at the end of fifth when they touched gloves and nodded at each other.

The action was finally halted in the sixth when Edwards was backed up on the ropes and unable to answer back with a flurry of punches landing on his head.

"I had the best camp I could - I was worried about what Sunny could do to me," Yafai told BBC Radio 5 Live.

"Whatever Sunny decides to do, he has been the man for many years now. I've looked up to him.

"Sunny is someone I have always wanted to beat. I knew I was better. He has been a great advocate."

'Boxing has absorbed my life' - Edwards

Sunny and brother Charlie have both held flyweight world titles

In the build-up to Saturday's bout, Edwards dropped hints about not being in the right space and the potential of retiring, admitting "a loss can make or break a fighter but I think it depends on where they are at in their life".

Stepping on to enemy territory to face Yafai, it was no surprise that Edwards was welcomed into the arena by a wall of boos from a hostile crowd, however, it was nothing but cheers and respect from the crowd when he announced his retirement in the ring.

Edwards started boxing aged nine, following his older brother Charlie into the gym, and pugilism quickly consumed his life.

After training in Sheffield with Team GB and enjoying a successful amateur career, Edwards made the move into the professional ranks in 2016.

The 28-year-old ascended through the ranks with incredible skill, putting the British flyweight division on the map, and won the IBF title by beating Moruti Mthalane to extend his record to 16-0 in 2021.

After four successive defences, Edwards dared to dream but came up short when trying to unify against WBO champion Jesse 'Bam' Rodriguez in December 2023.

Edwards bounced back to beat Adrian Curiel in June but was unable to find his groove against Yafai.

"I'm touching 20 years in a boxing career, and have been professional for about eight, and I've been busy," Edwards said.

"The only thing I think about when I get out of the ring is getting back in it and it has absorbed my life, my happiness, my effort.

"I've missed so many sports days, so many firsts of my kids' lives to do this.

"I couldn't get through a camp for the last four of five years without a bad wrist, a bad hand, a bad shoulder - I had to miss two or three weeks of training for this camp because I couldn't walk."