Galal Yafai

Galal Yafai
جلال يافعي
(2016)
Born (1992-12-11) 11 December 1992 (age 32)
Birmingham, England
Statistics
Weight(s)Flyweight
Height5 ft 4 in (163 cm)
Reach68 in (173 cm)
StanceSouthpaw
Boxing record
Total fights9
Wins9
Wins by KO7
Medal record
Men's Amateur boxing
Representing  Great Britain
Olympic Games
Gold medal – first place 2020 Tokyo Flyweight
European Games
Bronze medal – third place 2019 Minsk Flyweight
Representing  England
Commonwealth Games
Gold medal – first place 2018 Gold Coast Light-flyweight
European Championships
Silver medal – second place 2017 Kharkiv Light-flyweight

Galal Yafai MBE (Arabic: جلال يافعي; born 11 December 1992) is an English professional boxer. He has held the WBC interim flyweight title since November 2024.

As an amateur, he won a silver medal at the 2017 European Championships; gold at the 2018 Commonwealth; bronze at the 2019 European Games; and gold at the 2020 Olympics.

Early life

Yafai was born to Yemeni parents. He is the younger brother of boxers Kal Yafai and Gamal Yafai.[1] Yafai was appointed Member of the Order of the British Empire (MBE) in the 2022 New Year Honours for his services to boxing.[2][3]

Amateur career

While representing England in the light-flyweight division, the southpaw won a silver medal at the 2017 European Championships and gold at the 2018 Commonwealth Games, and bronze while representing Great Britain in the flyweight division at the 2019 European Games. He also competed at the 2016 Rio Olympics.

At the 2016 European Boxing Olympic Qualification Tournament held in Samsun, Turkey, Yafai defeated Samuel Carmona Heredia of Spain by unanimous decision in his semifinal to secure his place in the 2016 Olympic.[4][5] He won his round of 32 fight defeating Simplice Fotsala of Cameroon. He lost his Round of 16 fight to Joahnys Argilagos of Cuba.

In May 2019, Yafai was selected to compete at the 2019 European Games in Minsk, Belarus.[6] He also competed at the 2019 World Championships in Yekaterinburg, Russia,[7] where he lost by unanimous decision to Billal Bennama in the quarter-finals.[7] He qualified to represent Great Britain at the 2020 Summer Olympics,[8] where he won the gold medal in the flyweight division beating Carlo Paalam of the Philippines in the final.[9]

Professional career

Yafai faced Carlos Vado Bautista for the vacant WBC International flyweight title on 27 February 2022, in his professional debut, on the undercard of the Lawrence Okolie and Michal Cieslak cruiserweight title bout.[10] He captured the regional title by a fifth-round technical knockout, as Bautista's corner decided to throw in the towel near the end of the round.[11]

Yafai successfully defended his WBC International flyweight title against Miguel Cartagena on 30 April 2022, in his United States debut, on the undercard of the Katie Taylor vs. Amanda Serrano title unification bout, via a second round corner retirement.[12]

On April 6, 2024 in Las Vegas, Yafai stopped Agustin Mauro Gauto in the eighth round and retained his WBC International flyweight title.[13]

Yafai stopped Sergio Oliva in round three at Canon Medical Arena in Sheffield, England, on 28 September 2024.[14][15]

WBC interim flyweight championship

Yafai vs. Edwards

Yafai faced Sunny Edwards for the interim WBC flyweight title at Bp pulse LIVE in Birmingham, England on November 30, 2024.[16][17] Yafai won the fight by TKO in the sixth round.[18][19]

Professional boxing record

9 fights 9 wins 0 losses
By knockout 7 0
By decision 2 0
No. Result Record Opponent Type Round, time Date Location Notes
9 Win 9–0 Sunny Edwards TKO 6 (12), 1:10 30 Nov 2024 Resorts World Arena, Birmingham, England Won vacant interim WBC flyweight title
8 Win 8–0 Sergio Oliva TKO 3 (10), 1:49 28 Sep 2024 Canon Medical Arena, Sheffield, England
7 Win 7–0 Agustin Mauro Gauto TKO 8 (10), 2:40 6 Apr 2024 Fontainebleau Las Vegas, Winchester, Nevada, U.S. Retained WBC International flyweight title
6 Win 6–0 Rocco Santomauro UD 10 16 Dec 2023 Desert Diamond Arena, Glendale, Arizona, U.S. Retained WBC International flyweight title
5 Win 5–0 Tommy Frank TKO 1 (10), 1:40 19 Aug 2023 Uilita Arena, Birmingham, England Retained WBC International flyweight title
4 Win 4–0 Moisés Calleros TKO 4 (10), 0:44 1 Apr 2023 The O2 Arena, London, England
3 Win 3–0 Gohan Rodriguez Garcia SD 10 5 Nov 2022 Etihad Arena, Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates Retained WBC International flyweight title
2 Win 2–0 Miguel Cartagena RTD 2 (10), 3:00 30 Apr 2022 Madison Square Garden, New York City, New York, U.S. Retained WBC International flyweight title
1 Win 1–0 Carlos Vado Bautista TKO 5 (10), 2:11 27 Feb 2022 The O2 Arena, London, England Won vacant WBC International flyweight title

See also

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Galal Yafai.

References

  1. ^ "Boxing: Yafai brothers packing a punch for Birmingham". Birmingham Mail. 24 October 2012. Retrieved 9 May 2016.
  2. ^ "No. 63571". The London Gazette (Supplement). 1 January 2022. p. N26.
  3. ^ "New Year Honours 2022: Jason Kenny receives a knighthood and Laura Kenny made a dame". BBC Sport. 31 December 2021.
  4. ^ Dennen, John (15 April 2016). "Galal Yafai and Qais Ashfaq win Rio 2016 places". Boxing News. Retrieved 8 May 2016.
  5. ^ "Olympic boxing: Nicola Adams among eight British qualifiers for Rio 2016". BBC Sport. 15 April 2016. Retrieved 8 May 2016.
  6. ^ "Team GB squad announcement for the European Games". Team GB. 21 May 2019. Retrieved 29 May 2019.
  7. ^ a b "Thirteen boxers from GB Boxing squad selected to compete at 2019 World Championships in Russia". GB Boxing. Retrieved 18 September 2019.
  8. ^ "Galal Yafai relieved to have clinched Tokyo 2020 qualification before shutdown". belfasttelegraph. ISSN 0307-1235. Retrieved 11 April 2021.
  9. ^ "Boxer Yafai wins gold for Britain". BBC Sport. 7 August 2021.
  10. ^ Dixon, Tris (24 February 2022). "Golden Galal Yafai Says He Wants To "Test Himself" Ahead Of 10-round Debut". ringtv.com. Retrieved 19 April 2022.
  11. ^ Lewis, Ron (27 February 2022). "Galal Yafai Stops Bautista in Five, Wins WBC Regional Belt in Pro Debut". boxingscene.com. Retrieved 19 April 2022.
  12. ^ Brown, Shaun (8 April 2022). "Galal Yafai Aiming To Impress American Audience On April 30". boxing-social.com. Retrieved 19 April 2022.
  13. ^ Iskenderov, Parviz (7 April 2024). "Galal Yafai gets cut, stops Agustin Mauro Gauto in eighth round". FIGHTMAG.
  14. ^ "Yafai remains on track for Edwards fight, stops Oliva in three rounds". Boxing Scene. Retrieved 28 September 2024.
  15. ^ "Galal Yafai Stops Orozco With Ease; Sunny Edwards Fight Is Next". 3kingsboxing.com. Retrieved 28 September 2024.
  16. ^ Iskenderov, Parviz (2 October 2024). "Sunny Edwards vs Galal Yafai launch press conference face-off". FIGHTMAG.
  17. ^ Donovan, Jake (28 September 2024). "Galal Yafai Halts Sergio Orozco In 3rd Round, Preserves Nov. 30 Sunny Edwards Showdown In Birmingham". The Ring.
  18. ^ "Galal Yafai bullies Sunny Edwards into one-sided stoppage defeat". Boxing Scene. Retrieved 30 November 2024.
  19. ^ "Yafai puts on masterclass to beat Edwards". BBC Sport. Retrieved 1 December 2024.
Sporting positions
Regional boxing titles
Vacant
Title last held by
Jackson Chauke 		WBC International
flyweight champion
27 February 2022 – 30 November 2024
Won interim title 		Vacant
World boxing titles
Vacant
Title last held by
McWilliams Arroyo 		WBC flyweight champion
Interim title
30 November 2024 – present 		Incumbent