By Rob Tebbutt
ROB McCracken has praised Galol Yafai after his dominant sixth-round TKO win over Sunny Edwards in Birmingham and earmarked the heavyweight star as a potential Hall of Fame fighter.
Yafai (9-0, 7 KOs) turned in a career-best performance in picking apart former IBF champion Edwards (21-2, 4 KOs) on Saturday night, turning what was supposed to be an interesting 50-50 fight. something of an inconsistency with a stunning display of grappling and mixed punches.
“Yeah, he boxed pretty well,” McCracken said B.N.
“He had a really good training camp and really good sparring. Was in really good shape and had boxed a few months ago so he was really sharp.
“I thought this fight was at the right time for Galal. Frank Smith brought it up first, we discussed it for a couple of weeks, then we agreed to a deal. Galal was happy about it and it pushed his career forward. (He) took it seriously in preparation and wanted to put on a really good show. I think he’s done that and obviously against a top fighter in Sunny.”
Rob McCracken and Galal Yafai
By pitting Yafai’s all-round style against Edwards’ fleet-footed boxing skills and exterior, it was up to the Tokyo 2020 Olympic champion to force the pace from the opening bell – and he did so with devastating effect; Race out of the blocks and hurt Edwards within the opening thirty seconds of the contest with a thudding right hook to the head.
“He (Yafai) is very good at closing the gap.
“He’s an Olympic champion. If you’re a British boxer and you win an Olympic gold medal, you have to be a little bit special to close the gap. He (Yafai) knows how to close the gap.
“The sun is very strong. He took some big shots there and he answered the rest of the way. But when you’re hitting around the temple and you’re getting big body shots from someone who’s not only relentless, but also very healthy and knows what he’s doing, it’s very difficult for an opponent. “
Away from Yafai’s performance, one of the main talking points coming out of the fight was the behavior of the 28-year-old Edwards, who announced his departure to the ring immediately after the fight.
Having coached both Yafai and Edwards during their GB careers, McCracken admitted he was surprised when Edwards called time on his career, but expressed his hope the Croydon man would return to the ring in the future.
“Yeah, it’s surprising,” McCracken admitted.
“But look, he’s his own man, Sunny Edwards. He always was. Hopefully, from my perspective, this isn’t the last we’ll see of him. Maybe in thought he looks at it and thinks “I can go back and up‘ because he has the ability.
However, McCracken was adamant in his belief that Yafai has all the tools to reach the top of the sport, even hinting that he felt Yafai could follow in the footsteps of the long-time IBHOF student and former super-middleweight champion. . Carl Froch,
“Galol Yafai handed over again and went up and down.
“He’s motivated, he’s driven and he’s determined – so it’s a really good trip. Lee Pullen and I, we’ve been working with Galal and Gary Hale, who didn’t make it tonight, and let it last.
“Galal continues to gain experience at world level and let’s see if he can follow Karl Froch who was here tonight in the dressing room… let’s see if Galal can follow Karl and become a world champion and fight this merger, and who knows?
