World-renowned boxing trainer and analyst Teddy Atlas presented an interesting theory about why Sunny Edwards wanted to quit between rounds against Galal Yafai.
Sunny Edwards announced his retirement from boxing after falling to Galal Yafai for the interim WBC flyweight title last month. Despite a victory in his previous fight against Adrian Curiel, Edwards looked like a shell of his former self against Yafai and was brutally honest about his state of mind.
Just a few rounds into the fight, Edwards told his corner he ‘didn’t want to be here’, and despite his apprehension, his corner didn’t wave off the fight on his desired timeline. Edwards would go on to lose by TKO in Round 6.
Atlas, who has trained some of the greatest boxers who ever entered the ring, believes Edwards’ first-career defeat last December played a major role in Edwards’ decreased motivation.
Teddy Atlas reacts to Sunny Edwards’ brutally honest comments to his corner during Galal Yafai fight
During a recent episode of his The Fight podcast, Atlas explained how one of Edwards’ recent performances might’ve contributed to his corner remarks in the fight against Yafai.
“Edwards fought the wrong fight,” Atlas said of Edwards. “It’s too early to bring the white flag out. You shouldn’t’ve been in, you shouldn’t’ve signed the contract…I think this could be directly connected to the Bam Rodriguez fight. I believe that fight knocked the fight out of him. It happens!
“When I see a guy take a bad beating [like that], it might be the end. Some guys don’t recover from that kind of beating.”
Before losses to Yafai and Jesse Rodriguez, Edwards was unbeaten through his first 20 fights, including title wins over Moruti Mthalane and Marcel Braithwaite. The loss to Rodriguez came by corner stoppage after Edwards suffered heavy damage and looked nearly unrecognizable.
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Teddy Atlas weighs in on Sunny Edwards and his corner
Edwards earned WBO and IBF flyweight championships during his boxing career and helped put the division on the sport’s map. He retires with a 21-2 professional record with four victories by knockout.
Meanwhile, Yafai has his eyes set on WBC flyweight champ Kenshiro Teraji following the win over Edwards. Yafai has won his first nine professional fights with seven stoppage victories.
Atlas worked with heavyweight boxing great Mike Tyson and former two-division champion Timothy Bradley during his run as a boxing trainer. In addition to his work in boxing, he’s become a Mixed Martial Arts analyst in recent years as a part of ESPN’s UFC programming.
As Edwards heads to retirement, the debate surrounding his final fight in the ring rages on. But for Atlas, Edwards’ first career defeat led to what was discussed in his corner in the now-viral clip.