Eddie Hearn Wants Galal Yafai In with Cuadras or Sor Rungivsai
On August 19, Olympic gold medalist Galal Yafai (5-0, 4 KOs) put on arguably the best performance of his career with his first-destruction over Tommy Frank. Eddie Hearn now believe it’s time to put Yafai in position for an eventual world title shot.
TAKING THINGS TO THE NEXT LEVEL
Yafai is promoted by Eddie Hearn. Following Yafai’s win over Frank, Hearn spoke with Matchroom Boxing and detailed what he has in store for his fighter.
“We still need him to have that sort of gatekeeper fighter, whether it’s (Carlos) Cuadras or (Srisaket) Sor Rungvisai . . . I just feel like there’s no point holding him back . . . I want to make sure we get it right with Galal because I think he can mix it with all of them.”
Yafai is ranked tenth by the IBF, eleventh by the WBA and WBO, and fourteen by the WBC at flyweight. But many in the boxing community believe his future is in the junior bantamweight division.
Interestingly, Hearn made it a point to mention Cuadras and Sor Rungvisai as potential opponents. They are former world champions at 115 and have been prominent fixtures in the lower-weight divisions for several years. Both are in their mid-30s but still demand respect. Defeating either Cuadras or Sor Rungvasai would be a high-profile win that Hearn is seeking for Yafai.
When Yafai turned pro, the expectations in his home country of Great Britain were through the roof. There were some shaky moments early on, but the 30-year-old is coming into his own. You can see the confidence building with each fight. Hearn said he hopes Yafai’s next fight will occur on the undercard of the December 16 flyweight unification showdown between Sunny Edwards and Jesse “Bam” Rodriguez.
