Sunny Edwards and Galal Yafai finally meet in a professional boxing ring tonight.
The vacant WBC interim world flyweight title will be on the line on Saturday night, as both fighters look to take a significant step towards competing at the very top of the 112lbs division.
Edwards continues his rebuild after defeat to Jesse "Bam" Rodriguez last December, when he retired and suffered the first loss of his career as the American took Edwards’ IBF world title.
Since then, the 28-year-old proved too good for Adrian Curiel in June, winning after it was stopped due a cut on his forehead, and now goes up against British rival Yafai, who has only eight professional fights to his name.
The 31-year-old, who won gold at the Tokyo Olympics, has beaten all of those put in front of him so far, most recently stopping Sergio Oliva in the third round in September, but this is a significant step up for Yafai.
The pair have long been rivals, fighting against each other as amateurs when Edwards came out on top in 2015, and sharing many rounds of sparring since then.
Edwards vs Yafai fight date and venue
Edwards and Yafai will fight tonight on Saturday November 30, 2024.
The event is taking place at Resorts World Arena in Birmingham
Edwards vs Yafai fight time and ring walks
The card is expected to begin at 7pm GMT on this evening.
The ring walks for the main event are scheduled for around 10:50pm GMT, though that could be pushed back depending on the length of the bouts earlier in the night.
How to watch Edwards vs Yafai
TV channel and live stream: The card is being broadcast live this weekend via DAZN.
A subscription to the platform currently starts from £14.99 a month in the UK.
Edwards vs Yafai undercard
Sunny Edwards vs Galal Yafai
Cameron Vuong vs Gavin Gwynne
Conah Walker vs Lewis Ritson
Hamza Uddin vs Benn Norman
Kieron Conway vs Ryan Kelly
Aaron Bowen vs James Todd
Callum Smith vs Carlos Galvan
Taylor Bevan vs Greg O'Neil
Ibraheem Sulaimaan vs Marvin Solano
Edwards vs Yafai prediction
Whoever comes out on top on Saturday night will surely be on the verge of a world title shot at 2025.
What is less easy to predict is who that will be, with this promising to be a compelling bout between two men who know plenty about each other.
Edwards’ sole defeat has come against a truly elite fighter in Bam Rodriguez, who has since moved up and become world champion in a second division.
That was bruising night for Edwards and will surely have taken a fair bit out of him, and he then suffered a nasty cut in his last bout against Curiel.
The big question for Yafai is whether this bout has come too soon. He has done everything asked of him in his eight bouts so far, with six knockouts highlighting the power he carries, but this is a huge step up from anyone he has faced as a professional so far.
It could prove to be more of a tactical encounter than an all-action affair, and one that Edwards has the experience and technical ability to edge.
Edwards to win, unanimous decision.
Edwards vs Yafai results
Yafai tipped the scales at 11.4lbs while Edwards came in at 111lbs.
Edwards vs Yafai latest odds
Edwards to win: 8/11
Yafai to win: 11/10
Draw: 16/1
Edwards to win on points or by decision: 5/6
Edwards to win by knockout, technical knockout or disqualification: 13/1
Yafai to win on points or by decision: 2/1
Yafai to win by knockout, technical knockout or disqualification: 9/2
Odds via Betfair (subject to change).
