OLYMPIC gold medallist Galal Yafai will be in unfamiliar territory on Sunday (February 27). He goes into his first scheduled 10-rounder on his pro debut. But he will have a familiar face in his corner. Rob McCracken will be his trainer.
Yafai well knows McCracken, also the GB performance director, from their years together on the Olympic squad. โThe main thing is youโve got to trust that person and Rob is someone I trust. I know heโs a great coach as well, obviously. You look at his background, heโs trained the likes of Anthony Joshua, Carl Froch,โ Galal told Boxing News. โHeโs the perfect fit for me and hopefully I can show you what weโve been working on.
โIt got me to the Olympic final, to Olympic gold, so itโs done me wonders boxing up there, so hopefully long may it continue.โ
Another well known figure whoโs been helping Yafai is a potential future rival, Sunny Edwards, the holder of the IBF flyweight belt. They had around eight, long sparring sessions ahead of Galalโs first pro fight.
โGrant Smithโs gym is a literally a five minute walk from where we live,โ Yafai said. โItโs great sparring for me, great sparring for him as well.
โIt was good sparring, brilliant sparring, I think we both gained a lot from it. It was good for me to gauge where Iโm at. Heโs a world champion. Heโs an IBF world champion whoโs done numerous 12 rounders. It just showed where Iโm at. Iโm happy to say Iโm in a good place.โ
โIt was an eye opener for me. Itโs put me in a good position,โ he added. โWe boxed in the 2015 ABAs [the England Boxing Elite amateur championships]. He beat me on a split decision. Itโs 1-0 Sunny Edwards.โ
Theyโve been preparing together even though they do expect eventually to box one another as professionals. Yafai however doesnโt have a personal rivalry with Edwards. โI donโt have a personal grudge with no one. I just want to box and live my life peacefully,โ he said. โI just want to chill and enjoy my career and live my lifeโฆ Iโm too nice and too small as well.โ
โWe were saying in the gym before sparring, โWeโre definitely going to fight in a few years.โ Weโre definitely going fight in a few years. It wasnโt anything to be shy about or hide,โ he continued. โBut weโll get the work in now and weโll prepare for that in a few years.
โOnly me, Sunny, my trainer and his trainer and maybe a few others from his gym will know. But he might have the recording in the gym. There may be a recording. Maybe Sunny will let it out one dayโฆโ
Galal expects to be busy this year, having five fights in total and moving on to 12 rounders before the end of 2022. That means he could be fighting for the British or European championship in the coming months.

โIn my fourth or fifth fight I think I should probably be fighting 12 rounders. Hopefully I can do them!โ he said. โI donโt think of titles myself. I just like to think of progression, me getting better. I think itโs inevitable for me to be fighting for titles and winning titles. If Iโm good enough Iโll get them titles. But the only titles in my mind are world titles. Thatโs the only thing Iโm thinking about.โ
Galal added, โI could probably mix it with the world champions in the next two or three fights. Itโs not me being deluded. But itโs another thing winning them and looking good as well. Do I think I can mix it with them? Yeah. Can I beat them now? I donโt know yet, weโll have to see.
โTheyโre all great fighters, youโve got โReyโ [Julio Cesar] Martinez, with the WBC, heโs gone up now to fight Chocolatito [Roman Gonzalez]. Iโm sure heโll be back down soon. Youโve got Sunny Edwards which is the most glamorous fight โ an all British showdown, a bit of history, youโve got [Junto] Nakatani, whoโs a great Japanese fighter, heโs probably a nightmare as well. Then youโve got [Artem] Dalakian whoโs a good fighter.
โI donโt really care who I fight as long as I win a world title, thatโs all that matters.โ
His brother is also thinking about his return to world level. Kal Yafai, the former holder of the WBA super-flyweight belt, has had time out of the sport after losing to Roman Gonzalez. But he will be back in action in April and moving up in weight.
โBack, hungrier than ever, bigger, stronger, fitter, technically better,โ Kal told Boxing News. โSo Iโll move up. Iโve been working away behind the scenes. I had a year away from boxing. Iโve been away training hard, working on things, just working on being a better fighter and Iโm sure that will show when Iโm back in April.
โI just want the biggest fights. Get back in there, blow off some cobwebs and then get the biggest fights possible afterwards.โ
Gamal Yafai, the former European champion, also expects to return to action, potentially in May. Theyโre all excited to have their younger brother Galal joining them in the pros. โHeโs been looking good in training. We expect him to do big things as a pro as well, just like as an amateur,โ Gamal said of the Olympic champ. โI had a tiny break, two months, then back training. Iโm sound, Iโm ready to go. April, May time Iโd like to, just wait and see. I just want to get back in there now.โ
The dream is for all three brothers to fight on the same bill. โIt would be a big thing for us. It would be a big thing for British boxing as well,โ Kal said. โI leave all that to Eddie [Hearn, their promoter] and the team. Eddieโs delivered in everything that Iโve needed to date. Iโm sure he will continue to do so.โ