Galal Yafai made a huge statement in November when he devastated Sunny Edwards in a sixth-round TKO to win the WBC interim flyweight title. Now, the 2021 Olympic gold medalist can push one step closer to a world championship opportunity when he clashes with Francisco Rodriguez Jr. at bp pulse in Birmingham, England, live on DAZN, on Saturday night. Yafai (16-3 including the World Series of Boxing) overwhelmed Edwards and hopes to similarly demolish Rodriguez. Since suffering a unanimous decision loss to multi-divison champ Junto Nakatani in November 2022, Rodriguez (38-6-1, 26 KOs) has strung together two straight wins, including a third-round TKO of Jose Javier Torres in March of last year.

 

With plenty on the line Saturday night, DAZN News analyzes who has the edge heading into this bout.

 

Boxing Styles: Sunny Edwards will tell you from first-hand experience that Galal Yafai is a pressure fighter who walks opponents down and sits on hard rights and lefts with his punch volume turned way up. As skilled of a boxer that Edwards is, the British fighter did not have any answers to stop the onslaught that Yafai was generating. Edwards was overwhelmed via sixth-round TKO courtesy of being blasted by a barrage of punches while being trapped in the corner.

 

Overall, an unrelenting Yafai does an excellent job of forcing phone booth action and pushing off to reset when necessary, only to repeat the process all over again.

 

That style will be put to the test against a gritty Francisco Rodriguez Jr., who jabs well behind a high guard and changes levels effectively to bang away at the body.

 

That said, he will need to time a counterpunch to keep Yafai off him or at least give the Birmingham, England product something to think about. Edge: Yafai

 

Power: Seven of Yafai’s nine pro victories have come by the way of knockout, including three straight stoppage victories. That is a knockout ratio of 78 percent. Rodriguez has pointed power also, to the tune of 26 knockouts of his 38 wins. However, Yafai’s aggression and ability to fight forward while serving a buffet of punches makes his power game more potent. Edge: Yafai

 

Mental: Against Edwards, Yafai faced an opponent with more than double the amount of fights under his belt. Yafai responded by thoroughly dismantling him. Clashing with Rodriguez, Yafai will be tested by an opponent with five times the fight experience. That could present savvy know-how and ring generalship that Yafai will be pressed to resolve. Either that … or he could bulldoze straight through the Mexican fighter similar to how he has treated everyone else. The defensive front Rodriguez shows early will reveal plenty, but his experience is to be respected. Edge: Rodriguez

 

Who has the edge? Point blank: if Rodriguez does not show resistance to Yafai's storm, it will likely be a painful Saturday night for the challenger. Yafai does not take long to rev up his punches, and that progress will force Rodriguez to answer in the form of a timely counterpunch to the body or upstairs. If Yafai has a lack of respect for Rodriguez’s retorts, overall punch selection and power, there should not be much stopping him from getting that much closer to a future showdown with Jesse “Bam” Rodriguez.