Former flyweight world champion Sunny Edwards admitted he started training for his Saturday fight with Galal Yafai without a trainer.
Edwards, who defeated Adrian Curiel after suffering the only loss of his career to date, to Jesse “Bam” Rodriguez, had long worked with Grant Smith at the Steel City boxing gym in Sheffield, but Edwards left earlier this year – having achieved great success with Smith.
Edwards has been training with Chris Williams in Liverpool for Yafai. Williams trains Brandon Daord, who Edwards manages, and also Ryan Farrag, a former Edwards opponent, so sparring is built into his new camp.
“I spent quite a bit of time with Chris,” Edwards explained. “Brandon has been a key sparring partner for a few camps for me, including this one, including the ‘Bam’ one, and I spent a lot of time with him, he also trains a former opponent and now friend of mine Ryan Farrag, and he [Farrag] was my sort of breakout fight. These lads are in the gym, I’ve got good sparring there, he’s got a good boxing mind and I like his company and being perfectly honest, I took this fight and accepted the fight date before I’d found a coach, before I’d got through the process. I was training and I was making sure I was going places and doing everything I needed to do. However, I took the fight without having settled.”
Edwards travelled to work with a few coaches, to see who he might like to fight under, and he also visited Adam Booth’s gym to explore a potential relationship while he was in the South London area.
“With me and Adam, it was more, he had the Josh Kelly-Ish [Ishmael Davis fight] and I was staying down in London because I had [brother] Charlie [Edwards]’s fight with Thomas Essomba the next week [Sunny manages Davis and his brother], and I’d been to a few other gyms. I’d been to Dublin and a few other places, and I used my time, had a little conversation with Adam and I really respected and appreciated his time and definitely considered doing something with him for this fight in the process of deciding everything.
“But I’m not a 21-year-old with no responsibilities. I’ve got kids. I’ve got other things going on, things I have to weigh up in my life, my lifestyle, what can be possible to do in my life right now while I’ve got other things going on. Our times of maybe what I needed and what he could offer at this point right now didn’t completely match up, and it was an easy conversation and I’ve got a lot of respect for Adam. I’ve got a lot of time for him, I enjoy his company, so who knows what the future will hold. I’ve always got on with Adam maybe at a level as well that’s not only just boxing.”
Grant Smith and Sunny Edwards, now 21-1 (4 KOs), had a terrific run together. Edwards explained the decision to move on was not personal and that it was simply time to try something else.
“I’d struggle to call it a fall out, if I’m honest,” said the 28-year-old Edwards. “It’s more the progression of 10 years in the same place, things going on, more internally, but not in the sense of people’s character. When we’re dealing with one gym, a lot of different characters, a lot of different egos, there’s always going to be different situations that arise.
“Environments aren’t always what they always were, but without anyone being to blame. I wouldn’t say it’s a fall out in the sense I’ve still got fighters I manage and work with management, working wise. I’ve done corners with Grant since I’ve left the gym, working with young Brandon Scott. Yeah, it’s not a particular fall out, I just think at this part of my life having a bit more freedom and having maybe a more freedom of where I’m spending my time.
“[Training in Liverpool is] bringing me back to the old camp days, travelling at the weekend, switching on down there and seeing my kids at the weekend. It’s been nice.”
