Galal Yafai will get a world title shot after it emerged that his lone skilled conqueror Francisco Rodriguez failed a drug take a look at.
Yafai is now the necessary challenger for the WBC flyweight world championship and expects to struggle Ricardo Sandoval, the unified WBC and WBA titlist, early in 2026.
“I’m hearing it’s the first quarter of next year, it’s next. I’ve just got to make sure I’m 100 per cent ready. Most likely it will be in America,” Yafai informed Sky Sports activities.
Yafai suffered a punishing 12-round defeat in his Birmingham residence city when he fought Rodriguez in June. The Mexican repeatedly damage Yafai and dropped him within the final spherical too.
Yafai, beforehand unbeaten, was the WBC interim titlist, in place to problem for the world title. The defeat to Rodriguez was on the time a devastating profession setback.
It solely emerged afterwards that Rodriguez had failed a drug take a look at.
“He beat me so easy. I’ve fought all over the world, the Olympic Games, I’ve fought as a pro now three years. I’ve beaten some good fighters,” Yafai mentioned. “Then I come up in opposition to Rodriguez, who’s 32 years previous, in all probability has had his greatest years. Hasn’t been nice within the final couple of years.
“He’s coming down at the weight, he’s fighting me at my prime. I’ve got momentum. Olympic champion, thankfully, so I’ve got some credentials.
“And he simply beat me really easy and he got here to my metropolis to do it as properly. I simply thought one thing’s fairly off. When he was hitting me within the struggle, I might by no means had that earlier than the place anyone was so simply getting on prime of me.”
Galal Yafai overwhelmed former world champion Sunny Edwards
Yafai needed to ask himself questions he’d by no means needed to confront earlier than.
“When it first happened I was disappointed. Obviously we all want to win our fights. I’d just beaten Sunny [Edwards], I was interim world champion, I was one step away from fighting for the world title, I was fighting in Birmingham, I was favourite to win,” he mirrored.
“Yeah I’m a fighting a great fighter in Rodriguez, but I felt I had more than enough to win and I was better. After the fight I think I was asking a lot of questions of myself: why has this happened? How has he beat me so easy?
“It is also how individuals have a look at you,” he added. “Folks nonetheless have their doubts, possibly he is not pretty much as good.
“People can’t unsee that fight. It’s happened and I’ve just got to get through it now.
“I am unable to management that. I can management what I do, which is prepare exhausting and beat everybody in entrance of me, bar him.”
He does think that loss to Rodriguez on his record should be overturned and made a no contest.
Galal Yafai gained gold for Group GB on the 2021 Olympics in Tokyo
“Definitely. I think it will be. Due diligence has to be done and I think UKAD and the British board are doing what they can do to fix it and sort it. I just know these things take a while,” he mentioned.
“Hopefully it’s sooner rather than later.”
He has reset his concentrate on profitable the world championship subsequent. “It spurs me on,” Yafai insisted. “I’m happy to move on and fight for the world title as I will do.
“In the intervening time I am simply combating for the world title. I do know that Ricardo Sandoval is the champion, he is acquired two of the belts. Hopefully I can get that type that I had earlier than and that is only a blip in my journey.
“It’ll be a great fight and hopefully I can claim what I should have claimed before.”
