Olympic gold medalist laughs off ‘Rocky v Drago comparisons’ for upcoming bout

Galal Yafai laughed off Sunny Edwards’ gym complaints by claiming it’s far from a Rocky v Drago comparison.

The bout is built on a rivalry stemming from their amateur days with a family twist given their siblings have also been foes. It’s the Olympic boxing gold medallist in Yafai against the fighter who was overlooked to be the GB star but went on to become the world champion as a professional in Edwards.

Yafai, who won the flyweight crown at Tokyo 2020, has remained training at GB Boxing’s headquarters in Sheffield under the tutelage of team leader Rob McCracken much to Edwards’ chagrin.

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It led to the former IBF flyweight champion Edwards claiming Yafai has an unfair advantage using a gym and facilities funded by the UK Lottery while also having access to old sparring footage between the pair. While Edwards has been training in Liverpool with new coach Chris Williams.

Yafai, 31, joked that his flyweight rival is making it out as if it is some scene from Rocky 4 when Ivan Drago had the might of the Soviet Union technology behind him.

“I only need a bag and a ring,” said Yafai. “I don’t use anything else in Sheffield. I can run outside or on the track. It is not Rocky and a Drago thing that I’m getting the best of everything and all of the science and he’s in a spit and sawdust gym and trying out chopping wood.

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“And if anyone would have footage of sparring recently is that we sparred last year in his gym. They’ll have the cameras. If there is any sparring footage I’m not going to have it. The footage I might have is from 2016, I don’t think that’s going to help me.”

The rivalry is “sporting” according to Yafai rather than personal but it still runs deep. Their older brothers were also team-mates on the GB Boxing set up.

Charlie Edwards and Kal Yafai got into a heated argument at a workout event this week to promote their siblings’ scrap while Gamal Yafai also wasn’t shy in telling their rivals what he thought.

Galal and Sunny go back to an amateur bout in 2015 in the national semi-finals at light-flyweight. Edwards won a split decision but it was Yafai who impressed the GB coaches more and he was picked for international competition. That led him to the Rio Olympics before he struck gold five years later in the delayed Tokyo Games while Edwards, who was younger but more experienced at the time, went pro.

“Sometimes you would go into ABAs and lose to someone else on the squad but you’d be the one going away and winning medals,” said Yafai.

“That’s just the way it works sometimes. I don’t know how or why. Sometimes fighters are better suited to international boxing. When I boxed him I had 13 or 14 bouts so I shouldn’t have been really in there with someone like him. I had to take annual leave from work at the time.”

But now they renew rivalries in Yafai’s hometown in their clash at the BP Pulse venue with Edwards the more experienced pro having claimed a world title in 22 bouts before defeat by Jesse ‘Bam’ Rodriguez. Yafai is just in his ninth pro outing but with that Olympic gold behind him. A time to settle scores and ensure family pride remains intact against the Edwards clan with a future world title shot on the line.

“It’s something that has been built over the years,” added Yafai. “It has been brewing. I just want to beat him for myself but it will be nice for my brothers to enjoy it as well.”