Real Combat Media UK: Khalid Yafai is a rising star

Real Combat Media UK:  Khalid Yafai is rising star

By: Craig Johns

As far as progression goes, there are few advancing quite as quickly as Khalid Yafai.

Despair at missing out on a place in the 2012 Olympic squad last November turned to joy for the 23-year-old former Great Britain star just six months later as  he signed his first pro contract with arguably the country’s biggest promotional set-up – Eddie Hearn’s Matchroom – and the SKY TV coverage which comes with it.

Fast forward another five months and “Kal” has won his first three fights and is already fighting six-rounders. This Saturday night sees the bantamweight step into the ring again on the Kell Brook undercard, facing his biggest challenge yet.

Scott Gladwin stands in the way of Yafai getting his fourth win in four pro fights in Sheffield at the Motorpoint Arena.

Gladwin comes in with an impressive 5-1 record in his young career, and promises a big step up in class for Kal so early in his development.

But he has already shown enough to convince Hearn and Matchroom that he shouldn’t be boxing lower level boxers for too long, with Hearn himself dismissing Kal’s early opponents as too easy, and feeling his man is ready to be properly tested.

As an amateur, Yafai travelled the globe and picked up key honours, including a World Junior title, three European silver medals and an ABA title, as well as representing Great Britain at the 2008 Olympics in Beijing.

Now, Yafai dreams of being a world champion, and judging from the way he’s comfortably taken his successful amateur style into the paid ranks, it seems a reasonable goal, especially with the backing of Hearn and Matchroom.

And Kal is already prepared for the spotlight, as his first three fights and his upcoming fourth have been on the biggest bills of the year.

His debut came on July 7 on the Kell Brook vs Carson Jones undercard, when he forced journeyman Delroy Spencer to retire on his stool after the second round. He then demolished Richard Voros in 68 seconds on the undercard of Tony Bellew’s fight against Edison Miranda before winning a six-round decision against Victor Koh on the Carl Frampton vs Steve Molitor bill. His upcoming fourth comes on the undercard of Brook vs Hector Saldiva.

“Fighting in big arenas on big nights is great practice for me because I want to be a world champion one day and you heard that from me!” Kal told RCM. “Watching them in the main events also makes me even hungrier because I want what they’ve got.”

He added: “The debut was incredible and to get the stoppage was great because he rarely gets stopped. The second fight was over so quick, I was just getting warmed up, but it’s good to get a stoppage and look so explosive on the big bills because people remember you. I want to be known as the little guy who can punch!

“I was sent the distance in my last fight but that was fine with me. It is nice to get the KO, and I would never say no to one, but I think I have a style which impresses anyway. I do like getting knockouts, though, and I admired Mike Tyson a lot because of the way he demolished people with rage in his eyes, and I’d like to try and emulate that in my career.”

Yafai may have been taken the distance by Koh but he was in complete control for the whole fight and impressed many; including me. He looked very fluent in the ring and he threw body shots so naturally in a form not seen since the glory days of Ricky Hatton.

Sky Sports commentator Glenn McCrory claimed Kal was one of very few fighters who can leave a very good amateur career behind and quickly look like a seasoned professional.

The Birmingham-born boxer said: “It’s really nice to hear good things said about you. Koh was a tough opponent and he’s never been stopped before, but I thought I was unlucky not to become the first {boxer to do so}. I was told by my corner that I wouldn’t stop him, though, so I just boxed him and got some rounds under my belt.

“I think I used my jab well and moved well and always felt in control. It was my first six rounds but I felt good doing them and was happy for the experience. Physically I felt great and can’t wait to fight over longer distances.

“There were some negatives, though. I always look to pinpoint even the smallest of things that went wrong, and I think I stayed inside too long sometimes and got caught too easily. These are things I will put right in my next fight.”

Signing professionally came on the back of hard times for the young boxer, though – Khalid having dedicated the last four years of his life to qualifying for London 2012.

But while he missed out on London, a lot of people forget that, at the tender age of 19, he did qualify for the Beijing Olympics four years earlier.

“That experience was amazing,” Kal said. “I was so young and I just soaked the atmosphere up.”

Yafai unfortunately lost in the round of 16 in Beijing, but was beaten by the eventual silver medallist.

“Along with winning the World Cadet Championship, qualifying for the Olympics in Beijing was the best achievement of my career,” he added. “I was only nine when I followed my brother Gamal to the gym, so it took me just 10 years to achieve my dream.

“I was very young but I was devastated to lose. I cried for hours! After Beijing I toyed with the idea of going professional but I thought ‘I’m only 19’, and I knew the next Olympics were in London and I was on good funding, so there was no rush for me.”

Khalid trained hard for four years at the Institute of Sport in Sheffield, and devoted his life to pursuing the once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to compete at a home Olympics – at flyweight. Sadly, it just wasn’t to be, as along came Welshman Andrew Selby to snatch that away.

Yafai had twice beaten Selby, but a fantastic 2011 saw Selby crowned European Champion and silver medallist at the World Championships (losing the final by just one point). It meant the two were due to box off in a best of three series to see who would be GB’s representative.

Selby took the first of the series but then the unthinkable happened, as Yafai failed to make weight for the second scheduled bout a day later, therefore forfeiting by default and handing Selby the chance of a lifetime.

Kal reflected: “Andrew was in great form going into the series and in our first match he boxed his best and I boxed my worst. Overnight, before the second bout, I took on more fluids than usual in order to be stronger, but I just couldn’t shift the weight. I was also suffering from a badly swollen hand from the first contest.

“I do regret not making the weight and also getting my tactics wrong in that first bout. But, you know, everything happens for a reason, and I am in a great place now and I am just taking a different route to stardom.”

Selby lost to Robeisy Ramirez in the Olympic quarter-finals, with Kal believing he might have beaten the classy Cuban. But he insists: “I’d prefer not to reflect on the past too much. Like I said, I’m in a fantastic place now.”

No doubt he is in a fantastic place, because he has a bright future in a sport that has offered him a chance at a good life where he acknowledges he might have ended up on the wrong side of the law.

And Yafai cites Sky’s backing for Matchroom and Eddie Hearn is arguably the brightest element of his situation.

“TV was a big part of my decision to sign with Matchroom, and being the only promotion on Sky made it a good choice for me. However, they {Matchroom} also offered me the best deal and had the best ideas and plan for my career.

“Eddie is great as well. He is so friendly with all of his boxers and I see him more as a friend and think our relationship is just getting stronger.”

Upon signing with Matchroom, two of the biggest stars on the books, Brook and Carl Froch, who trains alongside him at Sheffield’s Institute of Sport, both praised Kal and tipped him to be a major success.

Should he come through his sternest test yet on Saturday, then Kal will face another step-up with a planned eight-rounder. That is expected to come November 17 on the Froch/Yusaf Mack undercard, which is guaranteed to be the biggest night he’s witnessed so far.

I am tipping Yafai to go to the top and be a world champion despite his youth, while his aforementioned brother Gamal is also a bright amateur prospect and ranked Britain’s second best bantamweight, behind only London 2012 champion Luke Campbell.

Should Gamal turn his attention to the paid ranks then we could have another successful fighting family to watch like the Hattons or even the Klitschkos.

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