Etihad Arena, Abu Dhabi, UAE. Olympic champion (Tokyo 2020) British flyweight prospect (up to 50.8 kg) Galal Yafai (3-0, 2 KOs) snatched a controversial victory from the Mexican Gohan Rodriguez (12-2-1, 1 KOs) and defended the WBC International title .
Yafai was one of the top contenders for the Prospect of the Year award.
The favorite-prospect started the fight slowly: he crushed, outplayed the Mexican in a tactical shootout. He began to look for arguments against the technique of the British and quickly groped – he began to bike solidly and work ahead of the curve. The fight leveled off a bit.
Yafaya would like to add a little in the work with a jab and in the body. And he somehow doesn’t care about counter strikes at all. It is very difficult for a prospect to find his distance. The opponent does not allow you to combine.
We have an intrigue. And the reason for the Yafai team to think about the pace of advancement in the pro-firing is that they plan to bring it to the title in the next fight or in one.
Going at it #BivolZurdo pic.twitter.com/fItYDuDgmL
— DAZN Boxing (@DAZNBoxing) November 5, 2022
No change from the favorite. Still mindlessly pressing, imposing a power fight. Rodriguez is too passive at times – so they won’t give him the victory. The underdog has a cut near his right eye. Most likely due to head-on collisions. But Yafai has a very decent motor – he aggressively worked the entire distance.
It is very interesting what the judges will count there, because the fight turned out to be very competitive. So, the official verdict: 96-94 Yafai, 96-95 Rodriguez and 96-95 Yafai. They worked great. Well done.
Yafai SD 10.
As part of the show, his older brother and ex-world champion Khalid Yafai (27-1, 15 KOs) performed. He made his bantamweight debut (up to 53.5 kg) with a very difficult victory over the Filipino.
Gerald Paklar (16-6-3, 9 KOs).
Here is the beginning! Paklar dropped Yafai with a right straight in the opening round. The ex-champ looked terrible. In the 3rd three-minute period, he blundered an overhand and ended up on the floor again. This time the referee insured – the knockdown was not counted.
Yafai goes down in the first @DAZNBoxing pic.twitter.com/RIbuiWeRIt
— Matchroom Boxing (@MatchroomBoxing) November 5, 2022
By the 5th round, Yafai, who began to work as an aggressive first number and imposed a power fight at close range (no kidding!) seized the initiative, but for some reason moved the opponent below the belt. He fell, rested a little, and then agreed to continue the fight. And in vain …
A male boxer’s worst nightmare #BivolZurdo pic.twitter.com/7bVLjryGVP
— DAZN Boxing (@DAZNBoxing) November 5, 2022
After the equator, the fight lost a lot of entertainment: both slowed down, often clinched, knitted each other. Yafai’s advantage melted away – he acted too passively.
The fight went all the way. It is unlikely that the judges will offend the favorite. Score: 96-93, 96-93 and 95-94. That’s pretty much how it was.
Yafai UD 10.