Galal Yafai believes that his amateur boxing experience will come in handy when he faces a challenging client, Sunlit Edwards, on November 30.

Yafai, winner of the Tokyo 2020 Olympic gold medal, will face Edwards in Birmingham for the interim WBC flyweight title. However, this won’t be the first time the pair have shared the ring after first facing off a decade ago in the ABA semifinals. Edwards said goodbye to the winner that day, and the pair played countless rounds together during their time with Team GB.

Their rivalry first took shape in the British boxing team. Yafai was selected ahead of Edwards to compete in the 2016 Olympic qualifiers. Edwards considers this decision unfair because he defeated his rival in the vest. Edwards then went a different route and turned professional, winning the IBF flyweight title, while Yafai competed at the Rio and Tokyo Olympics. Now the pair has a chance to face each other again, this time in the fight for the world title in 2025.

“I’ve known Sunlit for a long time, so there’s a lot of history behind it, but not only that,” Yafai told BoxingScene. “Honestly, I’m being respectful, but I’m waiting for him to try something so I can just jump over it. It’s good, it builds the fight, there’s a lot of story, people are interested. Now it’s up to us to put on a show, it’s up to me to win.

“When he beat me in the amateur competition, he beat me by split decision,” he continued. “I basically won that fight. But yeah, that was when he beat me, then we had a rivalry, we got to the UK and started sparring more and more. I improved a lot, I felt better, I went to the Olympics. He thought he should go to the Olympics, he became a professional, he won the world title, I won Olympic gold. We just went our separate ways, but he kept his end of the bargain, I kept my end of the bargain, so now we can meet in the middle and it could be a substantial fight. I just have to win it.”

Many of his opponents see Edwards as an enigma that can’t be solved – unless you’re Jesse “Bam” Rodriguez. His quick feet and movement often leave fighters stunned and punching the air. However, this is not something Yafai is worried about after his experience sparring with the former world champion.

“It was a good spar; It was a 50-50 sparring,” he said. “Sunlit is a good fighter. I’m not just going to beat him. But in this case there were good sparrings where I could see what he was about. I know that fighting and sparring are different. Sunlit knows I’m a sedate fighter. We lost a lot of rounds. If anyone has shared many rounds with me, it’s Sunlit. He knows if people don’t do it, if they think it’s too early, or what. We’ll see on November 30.

“I’ve sparred a lot of matches with him, so I’m already used to his style,” he continued. “Sunlit has a bit of an amateur style; it’s on the butt and so on. I’m used to fighting guys from behind as an amateur who are probably a little more clumsy. But we’ll see on fight night. I have to be the best I can. The best Galal should beat the best Sunlit. But I have to be the best I can be, and if I’m not good enough, I’m not good enough.

Yafai achieved what many can only dream of, winning a gold medal at Tokyo 2020 thanks to a brilliant performance against Carlo Paalam. Yafai now has a taste of glory and is looking to achieve what only fellow Brits James DeGale, Anthony Joshua, Nicola Adams and Lauren Price have achieved – winning both Olympic gold and a world title.

“Being world champion is the only thing I can do,” Yafai said. “It’s something I want to do. I know there are few people who have been both world champions and Olympic champions. I think there are two or three of them. So if I get on that list, it will be a substantial deal for me.”

Janibek Alimkhanuly made weight today for his second IBF 10-pound check and is ready to defend his IBF middleweight title against Andrei Mikhailovich tonight, October 4, at The Star in Sydney, Australia. Janibek’s photo on social media shows that he is skinny to control his 10-pound hydration limit.

Janibek (15-0, 10 KO) looked much bigger and older than Mikhailovich during the weigh-in and the last press conference. They should be the same height at 6’0″, but that’s not exact.

Mikhailovich appears to be around 5’10” lofty and not that forceful. He can’t punch like Janibek with a knockout, so he’ll have to find another way to win today.

The Janibek-Michajłowicz event will be broadcast live on ESPN+ in the US from 5:00 ET/2:00 PT.

“When you beat a dog, you become a dog. I always knew I would fight for the world title, no matter what people said. The fight with Janibek is amazing,” said Mikhailovich Fight. “It’s a real honor and a real privilege for me. I think he’s a great fighter.

“Sharing a ring with him is fantastic. I’m really proud and really elated. Janibek is a stern matter. He’s stern as hell. He comes from the Eastern Bloc. These are tough, tough people. I also come from the Eastern bloc, but I also have a weakness for kiwi. That’s the only difference.

“I still come from the same place as him, but don’t be fooled by all the playfulness and silliness. If you take yourself so seriously, it’s monotonous. People want to have fun. I want to have fun. I don’t drink or gamble. I’m having fun winding people up.

– Besides, it’s all just fun. The next gigantic thing is going to happen in 72 hours or a week. People will forget about me and Janibek until I fight again. It’s a constant cycle. You have to enjoy it when you do it.

“I believe he is humble. If you listen to what I’m saying, I didn’t say a single bad word about him. I’m just here to have fun,” Mikhailovich said.

We are ready 😤 pic.twitter.com/3Ye7caa2N9

— Janibek Alimkhanuly (@kazaqstyle) October 4, 2024

Janibek Alimkhanuly had twice as much trouble making weight as his team had in determining the stakes for Friday’s fight.

The undefeated and unified middleweight champion weighed in at 171.7 pounds at the second day of the IBF weigh-ins. The result was just under the allowed 7.5 percent excess under the IBF’s modified same-day weight control regulations. IBF mandatory challenger Andrei Mikhailovich weighed in at 169.2 pounds as he prepared for his first career title fight.

At Thursday’s official pre-fight weigh-in, both fighters were within their contracted 160-pound limit. Alimkhnauly (15-0, 10 knockouts) weighed 159.5 pounds and Mikhailovich (21-0, 13 KO) weighed 159.9 pounds.

Their fight will headline Friday’s ESPN+ show on The Star in Sydney, Australia. The event will also be broadcast locally on Kayo Sports.

Originally, Alimkhanuky was only supposed to defend the IBF belt. However, a recent WBO ruling reiterated that her belt is also at stake in what the sanctioning body considers a voluntary title defense.

The public declaration irritated the Alimkhanuly team, which felt cheated and agreed to comply with the IBF’s second day weigh-in. The clause does not apply during a unified title defense. This fight was considered a mandatory defense of the IBF title only until October 1. However, it was always known that Alimkhanuly would be stripped of his WBO title if he lost on Friday.

The Alimkhanuly-Mikhailovich gala was previously scheduled to take place on July 13 in Las Vegas. The fight was canceled before the pre-fight weigh-in when Alimkhanuly was hospitalized with dehydration.

As a result, Mikhailovich was left without a fight. Alimkhanuly was then summoned by the WBO – whose title he also holds – to provide medical evidence as to what led to his dehydration and whether he was fit to resume his reign.

Meanwhile, the IBF intervened and put the fight back on the table. This case was an epic moment for the #PurseBidHeads sports faction. No Limit Boxing, Mikhailovich’s promoter, outbid Top Rank by just $1,000 ($351,000-$350,000) to win the rights to the fight scheduled for September 3.

Alimkhanuly is making his fourth attempt to defend his title in the general classification and the first in the history of the IBF belt. He knocked out undefeated Vincent Gualtieri in the sixth round of their IBF/WBO unification fight on October 14 in Rosenberg, Texas.

Follow @JakeNDaBox