Gamal Yafai
| Gamal Yafai | ||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 Yafai in 2015 | ||||||||||
| Statistics | ||||||||||
| Real name | Gamal Yafai | |||||||||
| Nickname(s) | The Beast | |||||||||
| Rated at | Super bantamweight | |||||||||
| Height | 5 ft 7 in (170 cm) | |||||||||
| Born |
4 August 1991 Birmingham, England | |||||||||
| Stance | Orthodox | |||||||||
| Boxing record | ||||||||||
| Total fights | 10 | |||||||||
| Wins | 10 | |||||||||
| Wins by KO | 4 | |||||||||
| Losses | 0 | |||||||||
Medal record
| ||||||||||
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Gamal Yafai (born 4 August 1991)[1] is an English professional boxer. As an amateur he was a member of the England elite squad as well as the Great British podium squad and won bronze at the 2010 European Amateur Boxing Championships in Moscow.[2]
Amateur career
Gamal boxed for the Birmingham City Police ABC in Birmingham and was a member of the Great Britain elite squad trained by Robert McCracken and funded with money from the National Lottery. His brother Khalid Yafai boxed at the 2008 Summer Olympics and was also a member of the Great Britain elite squad.
In June 2010 Gamal won the bronze medal at the 2010 European Championships in Moscow. En route to the semi-finals Yafai beat Israels Peter Moyshenzon 11-1 in the 1st round, Italy's Vittorio Parrinello 5-3 in the second and Irelands John Joe Nevin, a World bronze medalist, in the quarter finals.[3] Yafai lost in the semi-final 3-2 to the Russian Eduard Abzalimv and so securing the bronze medal.[4] The tournament was Yafai's first outing at senior international level.[5]
Domestically at only 17 years of age was crowned ABA flyweight champion in 2009 with a win over Adam Whitfield beating him 11-5 in the final. Gamal followed in the footsteps of his brother Khalid who won an ABA title in 2008. Of the victory Yafai's coach at his club in Birmingham Frank O'Sullivan said "I was concerned about Gamal’s stamina but he handled it well...He boxed superbly to instructions and finished the first round 2-2. At the end of the second it was 5-5 and Gamal then went all out to win and stormed to success 11-5...It was a cracking victory and now Gamal can go on and establish his own career and will, for instance, be boxing in the three nations for England at Liverpool at the end of May."[6] Yafai did indeed box in the three nations tournament featuring competitors from England, Wales and Scotland once again meeting Adam Whitfield in the final and once again coming out on top, this time 13-4.[7]
Professional career
Early career
A 22 year old Yafai turned professional in May 2014 at the First Direct Arena in Leeds on a Sky Sports card promoted by Matchroom Sport.[8] Yafai defeated Ricky Leach via a 1st-round TKO in a scheduled four round fight. Ten days later, Yafai fought on the undercard of Froch-Groves II at Wembley Stadium against Jack Heath. Referee wisely stopped contest in round 1 with just 20 seconds remaining. Health was down twice, first from a head shot, and then a left hook to the body. On July 12, Yafai defeated 31 year old Spanish journeyman Reynaldo Cajina on points. Referee John Latham scored it 40-36 to Yafai. Two months later, Yafai faced off against French boxer Sofian Bellahcene at Wembley Arena, outpointing him (60-54) on the referee scorecard. After a 6-month lay off, Yafai returned to the boxing ring in March 2015, beating Polish boxer Krzysztof Rogowski at the Ice Arena in Hull via 3rd-round TKO. Two months later, Yafai fought at the Barclaycard Arena in Birmingham beating Spanish boxer Arnoldo Solano (14-7, 0 KOs) via points decision. The referee scored it 80-71 for Yafai. In August, Yafai defeated Spanish boxer Angel Lorente at the Craven Park Stadium in Hull via a 6-round points decision, after knocking him down once in round 5. The referee Michael Alexander scored it 60-53. On October 17, 2015 Yafai was scheduled in his first ever 10 round bout as a professional at the Barclaycard Arena against Tanzanian boxer Nasibu Ramadhani. This was also a Commonwealth super-bantamweight title eliminator. Yafai defied an injured left hand to earn a comprehensive 99-91 points victory. Yafai sustained the injury inside the opening three rounds and was put on the back foot, but regained his composure in the fifth and was on top by the sixth as he started landing hooks on Ramadhani, who struggled to connect.[9]
Commonwealth super bantamweight champion
Yafai vs. Jenkinson
On March 5, 2016, in his ninth professional fight, Yafai stopped Bobby Jenkinson (9-1-1, 2 KOs) in seven rounds at the Genting Arena in Birmingham to take the Commonwealth super bantamweight title. yafai picked up a cut four rounds in but followed up with a blistering show that ended with two knockdowns. The first knockdown coming from a straight left and the second from a left hook to the body. The victory took Yafai to 9-0, gave him his first belt and showed the watching boxing world he has the talent to follow in the footsteps of Carl Frampton and Scott Quigg in the future.[10]
Yafai vs. Wale
It was announced that Yafai would make a first defence of his title at the First Direct Arena on July 30. His opponent was announced to be Josh Wale (20-8-2, 11 KOs).[11] Yafai was taken the 12 round distance for the first time since turning professional in 2014, making a first successful defence of his Commonwealth title. Yafai started off sharp and cut Wale over the right eye in the round 1, although a replay showed that it was due to a clash of heads. The three judges scored it 118-111, 117-112, 117-112, all in favour of Yafai.[12]
Yafai was due to defend his Commonwealth title on October 22 against Sean Davis at the Barclaycard Arena on the undercard of Gavin-Eggington, however on October 17 Yafai had to pull out after injuring his ankle in a training session. Paul Economides instead fought Davis for the vacant WBC international title and Gamal's brother Kal was also added to the card which was a warm-up fight.[13]
Professional boxing record
| 10 Fights, 10 Wins (4 Knockouts), 0 Losses, 0 Draw | ||||||||
| No. | Res. | Record | Opponent | Type | Round, time | Date | Location | Notes |
| 10 | Win | 10-0 |  Josh Wale |
UD | 12 | July 30, 2016 | First Direct Arena, Leeds, UK |
Retained Commonwealth super bantamweight title |
| 9 | Win | 9-0 | Bobby Jenkinson |
KO | 7 (12), 2:11 | Mar 5, 2016 | Genting Arena, Birmingham, UK |
Won Commonwealth super bantamweight title |
| 8 | Win | 8-0 |  Nasibu Ramadhani |
PTS | 10 | Oct 17, 2015 | Barclaycard Arena, Birmingham, UK |
Commonwealth super bantamweight title eliminator |
| 7 | Win | 7-0 |  Angel Lorente |
PTS | 6 | Aug 1, 2015 | Craven Park Stadium, Hull, UK |
|
| 6 | Win | 6-0 | Arnoldo Solano |
PTS | 8 | May 9, 2015 | Barclaycard Arena, Birmingham, UK |
|
| 5 | Win | 5-0 |  Krzysztof Rogowski |
TKO | 3 (6), 2:32 | Mar 7, 2015 | Ice Arena, Hull, UK |
|
| 4 | Win | 4-0 |  Sofian Bellahcene |
PTS | 6 | Sept 20, 2014 | Wembley Arena, London, UK |
|
| 3 | Win | 3-0 | Reynaldo Cajina |
PTS | 4 | July 12, 2014 | Echo Arena, Liverpool, UK |
|
| 2 | Win | 2-0 | Jack Heath |
TKO | 1 (4), 2:40 | May 31, 2014 | Wembley Stadium, London, UK |
|
| 1 | Win | 1-0 | Ricky Leach |
TKO | 1 (4), 1:46 | May 21, 2014 | First Direct Arena, Leeds, UK |
Professional debut |
Titles in boxing
Regional/International titles:
- Commonwealth super bantamweight champion (122 lbs)
External links
References
- ↑ "Profile: Gamal Yafai". British Lionhearts. Retrieved 27 April 2013.
- ↑ "Boxer profile: Gamal Yafai". Amateur Boxing Association of England.
- ↑ "European championships results". Amateur Boxing Association of England.
- ↑ "Euro 2010 results". Boxing Scene.
- ↑ "Team GB boxers make their mark in Moscow". London 2012. 16 June 2010.
- ↑ Johnson, Ian (11 May 2009). "Birmingham's Gamal Yafai wins ABA flyweight title in Sheffield". Birmingham Mail.
- ↑ "BABA championship results 2009". Amateur Boxing Association of England.
- ↑ "Gamal Yafai makes debut on Leeds show". 2014-04-30. Retrieved 2016-07-28.
- ↑ "Yafai scores points victory over Ramadhani". Sky Sports. Retrieved July 28, 2016.
- ↑ Hobbs, Tim (2016) "Gamal Yafai stops Bobby Jenkinson to win Commonwealth super-bantamweight title", Sky Sports, 5 March 2016. Retrieved 5 March 2016
- ↑ "Yafai to defend title against Wale". Sky Sports. Retrieved July 27, 2016.
- ↑ "Yafai taken full 12 rounds as he retains title". Sky Sports. July 30, 2016. Retrieved July 31, 2016.
- ↑ "Gamal Yafai is Out; Economides Steps In, With Kal Yafai Added - Boxing News". www.boxingscene.com. Retrieved 2016-10-18.