Kal Yafai
Brummie bantamweight prospect Kal Yafai took his professional record to 7-0 after he beat tough Mexican Gonzalo Garcia on the 19th of January.
Like against many of his previous opponents, Yafai was the superior boxer/technician. He was quicker on his feet, had faster hands and was the more accurate with his punches.
Garcia though offered stubborn resistance for as long as he could. It was certainly Yafai's toughest task to date despite throwing and landing plenty of shots, It was the Mexican's 16th professional fight and he had some defensive and offensive tricks up his sleeve, but by the end of the fourth round he simply could not absorb any more punishment and did not return for the start of the 5th round.
It was Yafai's seventh fight in seven months and despite a sixth win inside the distance, He felt that he was not at his best and believes that he needs to improve. He also said that he had suffered from an injury in the build up to the Garcia fight which hampered his preparations.
"It was average, I felt a bit sloppy at times," Yafai told Sky Sports.
"I have not had the best of camps for this fight, it was hard trying to get back into sparring after my injured knuckle.
He added, "I got through it, but once I lifted the pace I got him out of there. The next fight will be ten times better than that.
"I need to work on my defence a bit more, working behind my jab."
Yafai, 23, could fight next on the Carl Frampton-Kiko Martinez undercard on the 9th February in Belfast. Another possible option is to fight on the undercard of David Price-Tony Thompson on the 23rd February in Liverpool, or even on the 9th March show at Wembley Arena which Darren Barker headlines.
Possible fights in 2013 for the Birmingham boxer could be against the likes of Geordie Martin Ward, who is the current BBBofC English bantamweight champion. He defeated Nottingham's Jason Booth for the vacant belt back in September.
Darlington's Stuart Hall won a vacant commonwealth (British Empire) title fight against Barnsley's Josh Wale last November and Jamie McDonnell of Doncaster is the BBBofC British champion. He had won an IBF bantamweight title final eliminator in October by beating Darwin Zamora of Nicaragua inside the 12 round distance.
Fans in boxing are now aware of Yafai's talent and many believe he will be a future star of the sport. Not only do they believe that he will dominate on the British and European stage, but also on the World stage. The great thing about Yafai is that he has a strong head on him and he is not letting things go to his head. He has his feet firmly on the ground but is very confident in his own ability, as is his promoter, Eddie Hearn.
I, myself, am a fan and I see the potential. I am also a believer that Kal Yafai will be a force to be reckoned with and he will win titles in 2013. That will be just the start.
@mcknightjames83
James McKnight
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