‘Do you want me to be real?’ – Sunny Edwards makes shocking mid-fight confession before retiring after Galal Yafai loss
Sunny Edwards hung up his gloves after being battered from pillar to post by Galal Yafai on Saturday night. Yafai was all over Edwards like a rash from the opening bell and by the end of round two, the former IBF flyweight champion made a shocking confession to his corner. Yafai didn’t give Edwards any space to breathe all nightGETTY “Do you want me to be real with you?” Edwards said to his trainer Chris Williams. “I don’t even want to be here.” Williams, who was in Edwards’ corner for the first time, replied: “Don’t be f***ing stupid lad. “Listen, stop feeling f***ing sorry for yourself right now. “Stop feeling sorry for yourself because you have had one f***ing bad round.” As the action dragged on, Edwards began to grit his teeth and fire back. But a vicious onslaught in round six prompted the referee to step in and wave off the contest. In the immediate aftermath, Edwards bowed to Yafai before announcing his retirement. “If I’m perfectly honest, win, lose or draw – my team knows this – win, lose or draw, I was retiring tonight,” he said. “I don’t have the same energy that I had for this sport — for the process. I’ll be perfectly real. “I put so much in for the first six, seven years of my career that I just needed a break. https://twitter.com/MatchroomBoxing/status/1862993442936066290 “I needed a break really before this fight, but I always want to compete with the best, and whilst I was the No. 1, I wanted to be involved in the biggest fights, the biggest events. “But I knew — I knew — I said the whole way that it was going to be hard tonight. “But the Sunny Edwards from 12 months ago would’ve gone longer. I’ll be real.” Edwards, 28, steps away from the sport with a 21-2 record having also fallen to defeat to Bam Rodriguez last year in a unification clash. Yafai, 31, moves to 9-0 as a professional and is now the WBC interim flyweight champion. Both men had a rivalry stemming back to the amateurs where Edwards defeated Yafai on points. Yafai is now the WBC interim flyweight champion and is on the verge of a world title shotGETTY Despite this, Yafai went on to become England’s representative at major tournaments, prompting Edwards to turn over at 20 years old. While Edwards became a world champion in the paid ranks, Yafai picked up gold medals at the Olympics and Commonwealth Games before making his professional debut in February 2022. Now, after just under two years as a pro, he is on the verge of a world title shot against WBC flyweight champion Kenshiro Teraji.
Sunny Edwards hung up his gloves after being battered from pillar to post by Galal Yafai on Saturday night.
Yafai was all over Edwards like a rash from the opening bell and by the end of round two, the former IBF flyweight champion made a shocking confession to his corner.
“Do you want me to be real with you?” Edwards said to his trainer Chris Williams. “I don’t even want to be here.”
Williams, who was in Edwards’ corner for the first time, replied: “Don’t be f***ing stupid lad.
“Listen, stop feeling f***ing sorry for yourself right now.
“Stop feeling sorry for yourself because you have had one f***ing bad round.”
As the action dragged on, Edwards began to grit his teeth and fire back.
But a vicious onslaught in round six prompted the referee to step in and wave off the contest.
In the immediate aftermath, Edwards bowed to Yafai before announcing his retirement.
“If I’m perfectly honest, win, lose or draw – my team knows this – win, lose or draw, I was retiring tonight,” he said.
“I don’t have the same energy that I had for this sport — for the process. I’ll be perfectly real.
“I put so much in for the first six, seven years of my career that I just needed a break. https://twitter.com/MatchroomBoxing/status/1862993442936066290
“I needed a break really before this fight, but I always want to compete with the best, and whilst I was the No. 1, I wanted to be involved in the biggest fights, the biggest events.
“But I knew — I knew — I said the whole way that it was going to be hard tonight.
“But the Sunny Edwards from 12 months ago would’ve gone longer. I’ll be real.”
Edwards, 28, steps away from the sport with a 21-2 record having also fallen to defeat to Bam Rodriguez last year in a unification clash.
Yafai, 31, moves to 9-0 as a professional and is now the WBC interim flyweight champion.
Both men had a rivalry stemming back to the amateurs where Edwards defeated Yafai on points.
Despite this, Yafai went on to become England’s representative at major tournaments, prompting Edwards to turn over at 20 years old.
While Edwards became a world champion in the paid ranks, Yafai picked up gold medals at the Olympics and Commonwealth Games before making his professional debut in February 2022.
Now, after just under two years as a pro, he is on the verge of a world title shot against WBC flyweight champion Kenshiro Teraji.
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