Sunny Edwards v Felix Alvarado 11/11/22

[TIC]

this could be very competitive. showtime is on a nice little run & el gemelo relinquished his ibf light flyweight title to move up to one twelve. the odds on felix are worth playing here

[TIC]

i'm going to go with the upset here, i think it should be clear but i could see a dodgy card for sunny in there. so felix by split. not very confident though as i rate sunny

[Master]

Sunny Edwards believes it was his rival Julio Cesar Martinez's fault that their potential unification world title fight collapsed.

Edwards looked set to face WBC champion Martinez in a huge unification clash which would likely have been promoted by Matchroom Boxing and kingpin Eddie Hearn. The pair were deep in negotiations to stage a showdown in Mexico, but Martinez instead agreed to face mandatory challenger McWilliams Arroyo.

The British star was bitterly disappointed after losing his shot at unifying the division, and will now instead take on his own mandatory challenger Felix Alvarado at the Sheffield Arena on Friday night. However he believes it was Martinez who pulled the plug on the fight.

"It's not Eddie Hearn's job to deliver me anything," Edwards told Mirror Fighting ahead of his ring return. "I haven't signed a contract with him or anything. But I genuinely believe him Matchroom Boxing and everyone who was involved genuinely wanted the fight. I just think they are sick and tired of Martinez and his unreliability to be honest.

"They also know they have ten fighters that if my name is on a poster with them they are big events. He doesn't need to promote me, it is probably better for us both if he has someone constantly on the other side. I will go there and he will have his arm around Martinez. Who have you got next for me Eddie? We have got Joshua Franco, Roman Gonzalez, we have Galal Yafai and we have so many options. Win lose or draw it is all nice, I just want to be in big events.

"I don't fear anyone in my weight or the weight above. If I do not get a unification at flyweight as my next fight next year, I am moving weight and I could go up or down but the flyweights are scared of me. Jesse 'Bam' Rodriguez, he has promised to switch down to fight me but we will see and I will not hold my breath. All I can take of this ordeal is a great compliment, and genuinely you can see that Eddie Hearn knows I accepted everything."

Hearn and Edwards had previously exchanged words over a fight with Martinez, which looked well on its way to completion prior to the collapse. Edwards now works with promoter Probellum after leaving Frank Warren and Queensberry Promotions, but has yet to pick up a huge fight to boost his chances of becoming undisputed champion.

A huge potential fight could emerge with rising star Galal Yafai who is starting to gain momentum en route to a world title shot in the future after his gold medal at the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games. However Edwards will now need to progress beyond Alvarado before any fresh talks can be held.

https://www.mirror.co.uk/sport/boxin...hearn-28458822

[TIC]

gave the first to sunny

[TIC]

felix connecting but i've given first two to sunny

[TIC]

not much in both rounds though & felix investing in the body early

[Primo Carnera]

i'm going to go with the upset here, i think it should be clear but i could see a dodgy card for sunny in there. so felix by split. not very confident though as i rate sunny

And that is why you would’ve lost a prediction contest with me.

[Master]

Britain's Sunny Edwards out-pointed Felix Alvarado to retain his IBF flyweight title and undefeated record in Sheffield.

Edwards, 26, dominated the first half of the fight and dug in brilliantly when Alvarado tried to respond with relentless, if disjointed, pressure.

The three judges scored it 115-113, 115-113, 116-112 in Edwards' favour.

Edwards says he wants to fight WBC super-flyweight champion James Rodriguez next.

"Bam [James] Rodriguez you promised me the fight next, come and get it," Edwards said.

Big unification fights could also be on the horizon for the Briton, with fellow champions Artem Dalakian and Julio Cesar Martinez both undefeated in the flyweight division.

But Edwards said Mexico's WBC champion Martinez was "running scared" from the fight, while Ukraine's Dalakian is due to defend his WBA title on 23 January.

Edwards started elusively, firing off counters on the move as Nicaraguan Alvarado tried and failed to smother the champion.

Alvarado had an impressive 33 knockouts in 38 wins coming into the contest and the challenger clearly felt he could hurt Edwards and continued to move forward.

But Edwards was in confident mood, even happy to stay on the ropes as his 33-year-old opponent looked for a big shot.

That exchange in the third round caused momentary anxiety in the crowd but Edwards moved away and responded with a strong left hook on the move and repeatedly opted to fight Alvarado in the same manner throughout.

The champion remained comfortable on the back foot and landed a beautiful, counter right uppercut in the fifth round.

The Briton appeared to be on his way to a wide points decision, capping off an impressive opening half with a crunching left hook onto the head of Alvarado at the end of the sixth.

Alvarado was momentarily stunned but quickly recovered, and just as it seemed that Edwards was on his way to a shutout the challenger upped the pace.

He forced Edwards back under the weight of a stinging right hand quickly followed by a painful body shot in the seventh round.

The defending champion was under pressure right through until the eleventh round, but never hurt, though he did end up on the canvas when referee Steve Gray accidentally stepped on his ankle, sending him backwards on the floor.

Edwards did seem to tire under the relentless pressure, but Alvarado struggled to put a definitive dent in his defences.

Edwards was unconcerned with the challenger's power, trading blows on the ropes for a lengthy period at the end of the tenth, before upping the pace, regaining control and cruising through the final round to the 19th win of his unblemished career.

https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/boxing/63605411

[Master]

Sunny Edwards wants the biggest fights out there following his most recent world title defence last weekend.

The Brit made the third defence of his IBF flyweight world title, as he out-boxed Felix Alvarado to claim an unanimous decision victory.

The 26-year-old is now ready to test himself against the best in the lower weight classes and there are few young fighters more exciting than the WBC super flyweight champion, Jesse ‘Bam’ Rodriguez, who Edwards has now called out.

“I think the biggest fight out there for me and probably the most realistic and reliable to be made would be the ‘Bam’ Rodriguez fight,” Edwards told talkSPORT.

“I think that’s a massive fight, he’s previously stated he wants to come over to the UK to fight me.

“To the best of my knowledge he’s got a shot at the WBO world title that was recently vacated by Junto Nakatani, so all be it he comes through that.

“I’ve just cleared my mandatory and I’ve done everything that’s asked of me every single time, I’ve tried to make the big fights in between to no avail.

“I can’t just stay surviving at flyweight fighting killer mandatories for not as much credit or exposure as I probably deserve, so if I can’t get… the unifications then I’ll be looking either up or down in weight straight for a world title fight.

“I only want the big interesting fights that will make a big event, I don’t really want to pick easy routes or to try and hold out and keep my belt for as long as possible and take easy fights. I’m completely sincere in wanting the biggest fights out there for me.”

With that being said, one man who definitely believes Edwards is ready to take on the best in the world is talkSPORT’s own Adam Catterall.

“Technically, I think this kid is the best fighter in Great Britain,” Catterall said.

“Technically, he’s absolutely fantastic to watch, poetic at times. The way that he moves and changes his angles, his shot selection is just absolutely superb.

“If you are a fan of boxing, the sweet science of boxing, a fan of hitting and not getting hit, Sunny Edwards is the guy you should be buying a ticket to go and watch.

“I just hope now that for him going forward… all the politics in this division that stop unification fights, I hope that goes away and we do get to see him in with the other champions and the other people that really could cause him, not a problem, but actually a proper conversation as to whether Sunny Edwards could get beat.”

https://talksport.com/sport/boxing/1...great-britain/