Galal Yafai suffered a one-sided loss to Sunny Edwards, who announced his retirement after the fight in Birmingham.
Yafai moved within touching distance of the world title when the referee stepped in to prevent further punishment for Edwards, who had earlier told his corner: “I don’t want to be here,” amid an early onslaught.
Yafai went on the offensive from the start, tying Edwards to the ropes in the first minute of the fight and unleashing both hands as he exited his stall, catching his opponent with a left cross, right hook combination as the young man struggled. find its circumference.
Edwards landed a flurry of body shots and a solid left cross from the second round with Yafai driving what response the Londoner could muster, and saying his corner legs had passed during the break, he found himself under intense pressure in the third.
Edwards announced his retirement after the loss to Jaffa
Yafai maintained his dominance in the fourth and fifth rounds as Edwards visibly wilted and landed a series of right hooks in the sixth before the referee stepped in and stopped after one minute and 10 seconds.
Edwards, who tasted defeat for the second time in his 23-fight career, was quick to announce his decision to retire, saying: what I wanted to do was to get the Olympic (champion) scalp.”
He added: “If I’m being perfectly honest, my body is falling apart, man. I’ve got bad ankles, bad shoulders, bad backs. I’m bad right now.”
Yafai, who lost to Edwards in 2015 when the pair sparred as amateurs, told BBC Radio 5 Live:
“I beat him, he was hard to beat, he had beaten me before, he was the man in the division, so I had to train as hard as I could to compete with him.”
