Sunny Edwards is taking inspiration from other big upsets that have occurred in boxing over the past 12 months – as he prepares to challenge South Africa's Moruti Mthalane for his IBF flyweight title on Friday. Edwards (15-0, 4 KOs) faces flyweight king Mthalane (39-2, 26 KOs) on a Queensberry Promotions event in London this week, live on BT Sport.
Mthalane is the betting favorite with the bookmakers, but Edwards claims he is pleased to be viewed as the outsider in the bout. Edwards said: “I am pretty happy to be considered the underdog. They have been on a great run recently and especially since boxing went behind closed doors. It is a trend I am confident of continuing and when I get the belt it will be in safe keeping with my dogs Kilo and Duchess protecting the crown jewels! I might have to ask the IBF about sanctioning some world champion dog collars if it all goes my way. I know my dogs look quite mean, but they are big teddy bears!
“I think I will have to move around and have a look for the whole 12 rounds, to be honest. You don’t go head on against an immovable object, I’ve got to try and work around it for as long as I can. This is definitely a twelve-round fight and I have trained for 15. All I know is, I wouldn’t try and beat him in an arm wrestle, so I am not going to try and beat him in a fight!
Edwards continued, “It is a friendly one since we were together in Ukraine and we have got each other on social media, so it has always been a ‘good luck’ or ‘well done’ before and after fights. He is top of the division, top of the tree and he is where everybody else wants to be. He is heavily avoided, we know that. I think he’s had like 10 world title fights and nobody has ever given him a unification shot. He has proved time and time again he will be the away fighter, even as a world champion. I think you have to understand the beast I am getting in the ring with, to be honest. I do. When I got out of the ring in Ukraine he said I would 100 per cent be a world champion, when I asked him for a picture. Hopefully that 100 per cent will be on April 30th and against him, but he is such a nice man and a great champion.
“I do genuinely feel honored to be sharing a ring with him, but all the friendliness will fall by the wayside when that first bell goes. I just need to win and having that world title would mean the absolute world to me and it would put me up there with the top British fighters right now.”
Elsewhere on Friday’s event, Michael Conlan makes his return as he meets Ionut Baluta, plus Troy Williamson and Kieron Smith clash in a 154-pound bout.
