Galal Yafai


Galal Yafai is a British professional boxer. He has held the World Boxing Council 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.
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Early life

Yafai was born to Yemeni parents. He is the younger brother of boxers Kal Yafai and Gamal Yafai. Yafai was appointed Member of the Order of the British Empire in the 2022 New Year Honours for his services to boxing.

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. 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. He also competed at the 2019 World Championships in Yekaterinburg, Russia, where he lost by unanimous decision to Billal Bennama in the quarter-finals. He qualified to represent Great Britain at the 2020 Summer Olympics, where he won the gold medal in the flyweight division beating Carlo Paalam of the Philippines in the final.

Professional career

Early 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. 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.
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.
On April 6, 2024 in Las Vegas, Yafai stopped Agustin Mauro Gauto in the eighth round and retained his WBC International flyweight title. Yafai stopped Sergio Oliva in round three at Canon Medical Arena in Sheffield, England, on 28 September 2024.

WBC interim flyweight championship

Yafai vs. Edwards

Discussions commenced in August 2024 for Yafa to compete against Sunny Edwards for the vacant interim WBC flyweight title. Eddie Hearn confirmed this, stating that he was "working hard" to facilitate the match. Edwards recovered from his defeat to Jesse Rodriguez by securing a technical decision victory against Adrian Curiel in June, positioning himself favourably to re-enter the title contention. On 13 September, the fight was made official, to take place at bp pulse LIVE in Birmingham, England on 30 November 2024. The fight was billed as Bloodline, due to the history of the families. Edwards said, “This fight has always been inevitable. Our last names hold weight in British boxing and around the world – and it’s really time to put to bed the Edwards-Yafai Saga." Yafai was excited at the opportunity, stating, “This is going to be a massive fight for British boxing. I need to win a World Title, and this is a fight that will put me on the cusp of fighting for one when I win in my hometown on November 30.” Both showed respect towards each other during fight week. Edwards weighed 111 pounds and Yafai weighed 111.4 pounds.
In a significant match, Yafai secured victory over Edwards by TKO in the sixth round, thereby claiming the WBC interim flyweight title. Yafai employed consistent pressure and striking effectiveness to achieve the win. Yafai established dominance early in the match by landing a powerful right hook that appeared to impact Edwards significantly within the first few seconds. He sustained continuous pressure, preventing Edwards from establishing his rhythm. By the second round, Edwards displayed clear signs of distress, communicating to his corner, "I don’t want to be here," indicating the difficulties he was experiencing in the fight. Yafai continued to apply pressure, effectively cutting off the ring and landing combinations while Edwards was unable to respond positively. Throughout the third, fourth, and fifth rounds, Yafai showcased a superior work rate, landing numerous clean shots while keeping Edwards on the defensive. Edwards landed the occasional counter-punch. The bout concluded in the sixth round when Yafai delivered a series of punches that left Edwards unable to protect himself. The referee halted the match one minute and ten seconds into the round to prevent any additional harm to Edwards. Yafai gained revenge on his loss to Edwards in their amateur days. After the match, Edwards announced his retirement, recognizing the physical toll that boxing had imposed on him. He stated that his body was "falling apart" and noted a diminishing passion for the sport that had previously motivated him.
Yafai articulated his dissatisfaction regarding the lack of recognition for his victory over Edwards, asserting that excuses had eclipsed his accomplishment. He noted that many considered Edwards a formidable opponent beforehand and were now grappling with the implication that his win was less significant due to assertions that Edwards was not in peak condition. Yafai emphasized his respect for Edwards while addressing the remarks made by Edwards following their match.

Yafai vs. Rodríguez

Yafai was scheduled to make his first defence against veteran, former mini flyweight world champion Francisco Rodríguez Jr.. The fight went to purse bids, with a winning bid of $222,000 by sole bidders Matchroom Boxing in March 2025. In April, the card was announced to take place at the bp Pulse LIVE, with Shabaz Masoud vs. Peter McGrail as the headline on 21 June 2025. Masoud was forced to withdraw from his fight, pushing Yafai and Rodríguez to main event.
Yafai lost the belt and his unbeaten professional record via a lopsided unanimous decision. The scorecards read 119–108, 119–108, and 118–109 all in favour of Rodríguez. He applied a non-stop attack from the beginning, while Yafai was never allowed to get close to hurting him. Yafai showed a lot of heart to hear the final. By mid fight, both boxers were cut around the eyes. Yafai was dropped in the seventh round, only for the referee to not call it a knockdown. it was evident from here that Yafai needed a stoppage, but he could not keep up with the pace Rodríguez had set. Prior to the ninth round, both men were checked over by the ringside doctor. Yafai was dropped in the twelfth round, but beat the count. His trainer Rob McCracken had the towel in his hands from this point, but allowed his boxer to hear the final bell. Yafai's promoter Eddie Hearn argued allowing Yafai to continue taking heavy shots later in the fight. He said, “It's difficult. Maybe once you get to 10 or 11 and there isn't really … it's not looking like there's a way back in the fight. I mean, I looked over at Rob McCracken, he had his towel in the 12th round ready to go in, and obviously when he got dropped, but Galal did a good job of holding. But he took a lot of punishment in the last part of the fight.” Rodríguez was now the mandatory for full champion Kenshiro Teraji. Rodríguez threw over 1000 punches, landing over half of them. CompuBox showed Rodríguez landed 575 of 1089 punches thrown, a flyweight record and Yafai connected with 230 of his 795 thrown.
On 9 July 2025, Matchroom Boxing revealed that Rodríguez had tested positive in his post-fight anti-doping test, administered by VADA. He returned an "adverse analytical finding" according to the statement. On 27 July, Yafai was re-instated as the interim WBC champion, but ordered to a rematch against Rodríguez., who was placed on a 12 month probation. The WBC concluded its investigation, stating that Rodríguez did not intentionally consume any substances to enhance his performance.

Yafai vs. Sandoval

On August 14, the WBC reversed its previous decision and mandated Ricardo Sandoval to defend his WBC title against Yafai. Sandoval, who also held the WBA championship, secured his unified status by defeating Kenshiro Teraji in July.

Professional boxing record

No.ResultRecordOpponentTypeRound, timeDateLocationNotes
10Loss9–1Francisco Rodríguez Jr.UD1221 Jun 2025bp pulse LIVE, Birmingham, England WBC interim flyweight title at stake;
Although the WBC requested a NC after Rodríguez failed a drug test, the BBBofC ultimately upheld Rodríguez's victory
9Win9–0Sunny EdwardsTKO6, 1:1030 Nov 2024bp pulse LIVE, Birmingham, EnglandWon vacant WBC interim flyweight title
8Win8–0Sergio OlivaTKO3, 1:4928 Sep 2024Canon Medical Arena, Sheffield, England
7Win7–0Agustin Mauro GautoTKO8, 2:406 Apr 2024Fontainebleau Las Vegas, Winchester, Nevada, U.S.Retained WBC International flyweight title
6Win6–0Rocco SantomauroUD1016 Dec 2023Desert Diamond Arena, Glendale, Arizona, U.S.Retained WBC International flyweight title
5Win5–0Tommy FrankTKO1, 1:4019 Aug 2023Uilita Arena, Birmingham, EnglandRetained WBC International flyweight title
4Win4–0Moisés CallerosTKO4, 0:441 Apr 2023The O2 Arena, London, England
3Win3–0Gohan Rodriguez Garcia105 Nov 2022Etihad Arena, Abu Dhabi, United Arab EmiratesRetained WBC International flyweight title
2Win2–0Miguel Cartagena2, 3:0030 Apr 2022Madison Square Garden, New York City, New York, U.S.Retained WBC International flyweight title
1Win1–0Carlos Vado Bautista5, 2:1127 Feb 2022The O2 Arena, London, EnglandWon vacant WBC International flyweight title