It is so very often true in the sport of boxing that a smaller fighter, say a flyweight or a bantamweight, rarely if ever pulls in as many viewers as a welterweight, a middleweight, or a heavyweight. The bigger guys of the sport attract more fan attention, they earn more money, and they enjoy a much higher profile than the lower weight boxers. That’s just the way it is, and has seemingly always been.
But there are times, quite a lot of times in fact, when the little giants of the sport put on thrilling fights, action fights that are far more entertaining and are far better value for money than the heavyweight fights. Yet so many fans do not tune in. Galal Yafai, the WBC interim champ at flyweight, understands this, and he says he has to work harder, as much as twice harder than middleweights and heavyweights, in order to get the fan recognition.
Yafai, who faces Mexican warrior Francisco Rodriguez Jr on Saturday night, spoke with BBC Sport, and he said, half-jokingly, that he wishes he was a heavyweight.
A Flyweight’s Fight for the Spotlight
“We don’t get the plaudits,” Yafai said when referring to the smaller fighters of the sport. “I wish I was 6ft 4in and a heavyweight. But I’m fine having to do double the work of middleweights and heavyweights to get the recognition.”
Yafai, unbeaten at 9-0(7), got some recognition in his last fight, when he impressively took apart and stopped Sunny Edwards in six one-sided rounds. Now, the Olympic gold medal winner is looking for more, starting with a win over Rodriguez at the weekend. Yafai says he’d love to go back to Japan, where he captured Olympic gold, to fight Kenshiro Teraji in a big unification fight.
“I’ve got a good connection with Japan – I won Olympic gold in Tokyo,” he said. “Going back there to fight for a world championship for a unified title would be incredible. I’d absolutely be up for it. When I retire from boxing, I want to sit back and say I was Olympic champion and world champion. That’s the legacy I’m chasing.”
If he can achieve all he wants to achieve, Yafai will almost certainly put more light on the sport’s diminutive warriors, this something these great fighters deserve. The heavyweights will always have the mystique, but fans who do not tune in to see superb little fighters such as Yafai, Junto Nakatani, Bam Rodriguez, Kenshiro Teraji, Oscar Collazo, Fernando Martinez, Kazuto Ioka, Seiya Tsutsumi, Nick Ball, and so many others, well, they really don’t know what they’re missing.
LIVE ON DAZN: 19:00
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Galal Yafai – 111.6 lbs (50.6 kg) vs. Francisco Rodriguez – 111.1 lbs (50.4 kg)
12 x 3 mins — Interim WBC Flyweight World Title -
Conah Walker – 146.8 lbs (66.6 kg) vs. Liam Taylor – 146.7 lbs (66.5 kg)
12 x 3 mins — British Welterweight Title -
Peter McGrail – 121.9 lbs (55.3 kg) vs. Ionut Baluta – 121.9 lbs (55.3 kg)
10 x 3 mins — WBA International Super-Bantamweight Title -
Pat Brown – 209.6 lbs (95.1 kg) vs. Ivan Duka – 206.7 lbs (93.8 kg)
6 x 3 mins — International Cruiserweight contest -
Tiah-Mai Ayton – 119.9 lbs (54.4 kg) vs. Sara Orszagi – 117.6 lbs (53.3 kg)
6 x 2 mins — Super-Bantamweight contest
BEFORE THE BELL: 16:30
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Aaron Bowen – 164.1 lbs (74.4 kg) vs. Mykola Vovk – 163.5 lbs (74.2 kg)
8 x 3 mins — International Middleweight contest -
Giorgio Visioli – 133 lbs (60.3 kg) vs. Elias Federico Duguet – 132.5 lbs (60.1 kg)
8 x 3 mins — International Super-Featherweight contest -
Ibraheem Sulaimaan – 132.4 lbs (60.1 kg) vs. Brian Phillips – 132.8 lbs (60.3 kg)
8 x 3 mins — Super-Featherweight contest -
Hamza Uddin – 115.7 lbs (52.5 kg) vs. Leandro Jose Blanc – 114.9 lbs (52.1 kg)
8 x 3 mins — International Flyweight contest