Galal Yafai plans to affix former GB team-mate and fellow Olympic gold medallist Lauren Value as an expert world champion.
British Olympic gold medallists profitable professional world titles is a uncommon feat. James DeGale was the primary to handle it and Anthony Joshua adopted his lead, however there are few different examples.
GB’s Tokyo Olympic group nevertheless was excellent, profitable Britain’s greatest medal haul in 100 years. Yafai and Value starred in that squad. Of the six GB boxers who gained medals in Japan, Yafai and Value have been the 2 to take gold.
Each turned skilled and nonetheless practice alongside each other on the English Institute of Sport in Sheffield.
Value, in simply seven skilled fights, has already gained the WBA welterweight world title.
Yafai has been fast-tracked in a comparable manner, solely having eight professional bouts earlier than going right into a WBC Interim title bout with Sunny Edwards, a former world champion and one-time newbie opponent for Yafai.
Victory of their bout on Saturday in Birmingham would put Yafai on the right track for a shot on the WBC world flyweight championship, held by Kenshiro Teraji.
“I don’t have a target. I take one fight at a time. It’s an Interim title so the full title’s the next fight,” Yafai advised Sky Sports activities.
“I don’t know the ins and outs of it. I just do the training and the fighting and if he’s next, he’s next. But I’ve got a big hurdle on Saturday night first. I’ve got to get over that hurdle before I can think about the second or the third.”
Galal Yafai was an excellent gold medal winner on the Tokyo Olympics
However he needs to affix Value on the high of the skilled recreation. “Definitely. She’s probably the most down-to-earth person even though she’s so good at boxing. She completed it all as an amateur and she’s already a [world] champion,” Yafai stated.
“She’s got the WBA world title, she’s had a handful of fights. She’s one of the best in the world already.
“It’s totally laborious,” he said of professional boxing. “Hopefully I can develop into a world champion.”
Passage through the pro sport is by no means smooth, even for an Olympic star. For instance GB’s super-heavyweight bronze medallist from the Tokyo Games Frazer Clarke drew with Fabio Wardley in a thrilling British title fight before being caught early in the rematch and knocked out in the first round.
Yafai though backs Clarke to come back from that first defeat.
“Positively,” he said. “He is at all times there for me. I do not care if he wins, loses, turns into world champion or not, he is my good friend. I am hoping he can bounce again and I am positive he’ll.
“We all want to do well and we’ve travelled the world with each other. But it’s just boxing, especially at heavyweight with Frazer, the worst can happen and it’s dangerous.”
Please use Chrome browser for a extra accessible video participant
Frazer Clarke says his restoration goes properly and he’s trying ahead to getting again to combating, following his crushing defeat to Fabio Wardley.
Yafai is trying to navigate the pitfalls {of professional} boxing. Edwards could possibly be a defining combat for him. The previous IBF champion is a skilful operator who has solely misplaced as soon as, and that got here in opposition to the superb Jesse Rodriguez.
However Yafai warned: “I’ve fought the best in the world, who have got the best footwork. Sunny’s footwork is not going to be something I haven’t seen before.
“I’ve fought Cubans, Kazakhs, Uzbeks, they have a lot better footwork than Sunny Edwards. Individuals appear to neglect that I am an Olympic champion combating within the Olympics with males who have gotten good footwork and are skilful to a different degree. I do not suppose Sunny Edwards actually has something that I have not seen earlier than.”
Their shared past not only encompasses that amateur bout but also much more recent sparring sessions. Yafai is now convinced that he can hurt Edwards.
“1,000,000 per cent I can,” he declared. “I might be upset if I did not however it’s a combat and something can occur on this boxing recreation.”
Lauren Value defends the WBA welterweight world title in opposition to Bexcy Mateus on December 14 reside on Sky Sports activities
