Boxing

Sunny Edwards vs. Galal Yafai prediction: Expert pick for 2024 boxing fight

A near decade-long rivalry will come to a head in a professional ring when former IBF flyweight titleholder Sunny Edwards takes on Olympic champion Galal Yafai at the Resorts World Arena in Birmingham on Saturday.

The 12-round bout, plus undercard action, will be broadcast by DAZN.

WATCH: Sunny Edwards vs. Galal Yafai, live and exclusively on DAZN 

Despite losing his world title to Bam Rodriguez last year, Edwards (21-1, 4 KOs) still looked like an elite-level operator when he dismantled Mexico’s Adrian Curiel in June.

While the 28-year-old southpaw holds a win over Yafai in the amateurs, he was quick to dismiss the critics who feel this fight has come too soon for his 8-0 nemesis.

“[It’s not too early,] I think it’s perfect timing for us both,” countered Edwards during DAZN’s Face Off.

“Galal is three years older than me, so he needs to get going. We’re here and we’re going to be here for the next few years, so why not get it cracking now?”

Yafai took Olympic flyweight gold at Tokyo 2020 and has been fast-tracked since turning professional in 2022. Highly touted, the Birmingham man has already turned in some sparkling performances against fringe world-class opposition.

While Edwards represents a huge step up in class, his old amateur nemesis and sparring partner will be looking to make his power count,

“I think everyone can see, there’s not a massive grudge,” Yafai told BoxingScene.

“There’s sporting rivalry, which I’m not gonna want to lose to Sunny Edwards, he’s not going to want to lose to Galal Yafai.

“The respect is there, but respect goes out the window when the bell rings. I’ll be trying to rip his head off and he’ll be trying to box my head off.”

The Sporting News looks at the odds for this all-British matchup and makes a final prediction.

Sunny Edwards vs. Galal Yafai odds, betting

Per BetMGM, Edwards is the -140 favorite while Yafai is the +105 underdog. The draw is +1400.

Sunny Edwards vs. Galal Yafai prediction

This is a very difficult fight to call.

Yafai is a powerful boxer-puncher with a lot of tools. Widely believed to be the best of three boxing brothers (Kal and Gamal are the others), Galal has lived up to expectations by becoming Olympic champ and a standout pro.

Edwards bounced back well from a pulverising loss to Bam. After years of victory, the loquacious Englishman could have been forgiven for losing his edge following that setback, but he was dazzling against Curiel and handed him a boxing lesson.

To simplify it, this looks like Yafai by knockout or Edwards by decision. Something tells me the ex-champ has too many tricks up his sleeve and will win a close and competitive fight on the cards.

SN Prediction: Edwards UD 12 (-110)

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