British boxer makes ‘heartbreaking’ six-word comment to his corner before immediately retiring after fight

A British boxer made a six-word comment to his corner and then announced his retirement in the wake of his second ever career defeat.

A British boxer made a six-word comment to his corner and then announced his retirement in the wake of his second ever career defeat.

Galal Yafai claimed a stoppage victory over Sunny Edwards, who then announced his retirement after the flyweight fight in Birmingham.

Yafai, who dominated from the first bell, has moved a step closer to a world title shot, after the referee stepped in to prevent any more punishment for Edwards.

Amid an early onslaught, Edwards had earlier told his corner: “I don’t want to be here.”

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Edwards was pinned to the ropes within the first minute, and by the second round was taking a series of body blows. He had told his corner in the interval between the opening two rounds that his legs had gone.

Yafai maintained his dominance in the third, fourth and fifth rounds, and then landed a spate of right hooks in the sixth that saw the referee call a halt to proceedings.

Edwards was quick to announce his decision to return after the bout.

He said, via Sky Sports: “I’ll be real, if I won the fight, I was going into the sunset. This is the last thing that I wanted to do, get that scalp of the Olympic [champion].

Edwards announced his retirement after the bout (Getty)
Edwards announced his retirement after the bout (Getty)

“If I’m being perfectly honest, my body’s falling apart, man. I’ve got bad ankles, I’ve got bad wrists, I’ve got bad shoulders, I’ve got a bad back – everything about me is bad at this moment.”

Yafai had lost to Edwards on a split decision when the pair fought as amateurs in 2015.

He told BBC Radio 5 Live: “I was scared going into camp, worried what Sunny could do to me.

“I sparred him, he was hard to spar, he’s beaten me before, he’s been the man in the division, so I had to train as hard as I could to compete with him.”