Gamal Yafai (; born 4 August 1991) is a British
professional boxer
Professional boxing, or prizefighting, is regulated, sanctioned boxing. Professional boxing bouts are fought for a purse that is divided between the boxers as determined by contract. Most professional fights are supervised by a regulatory auth ...
. He held the
European super-bantamweight
Super bantamweight, also known as junior featherweight, is a boxing weight classes, weight class in professional boxing, contested from and up to .
There were attempts by boxing promoters in the 1920s to establish this weight class, but few sanct ...
title between 2020 and May 2021 and previously held the
Commonwealth
A commonwealth is a traditional English term for a political community founded for the common good. The noun "commonwealth", meaning "public welfare, general good or advantage", dates from the 15th century. Originally a phrase (the common-wealth ...
super-bantamweight title in 2016. As an
amateur
An amateur () is generally considered a person who pursues an avocation independent from their source of income. Amateurs and their pursuits are also described as popular, informal, autodidacticism, self-taught, user-generated, do it yourself, DI ...
he won a bronze medal at the
2010 European Championships.
Personal life
Gamal Yafai was born in
Birmingham
Birmingham ( ) is a City status in the United Kingdom, city and metropolitan borough in the metropolitan county of West Midlands (county), West Midlands, within the wider West Midlands (region), West Midlands region, in England. It is the Lis ...
, England, on 4 August 1991 to
Yemeni
Yemen, officially the Republic of Yemen, is a country in West Asia. Located in southern Arabia, it borders Saudi Arabia to the north, Oman to the northeast, the south-eastern part of the Arabian Sea to the east, the Gulf of Aden to the south ...
parents. He is the brother of Olympic champion flyweight
Galal Yafai and former world professional flyweight champion
Kal Yafai. Like them, Yafai was also a member of the Great Britain elite squad.
Amateur career
Gamal boxed for the Birmingham City Police ABC and was a member of the Great Britain elite squad trained by
Robert McCracken and funded with money from the National Lottery.
In June 2010 Gamal won the bronze medal at the
2010 European Championships in
Moscow
Moscow is the Capital city, capital and List of cities and towns in Russia by population, largest city of Russia, standing on the Moskva (river), Moskva River in Central Russia. It has a population estimated at over 13 million residents with ...
. En route to the semi-finals Yafai beat Israels Peter Moyshenzon 11–1 in the 1st round, Italy's
Vittorio Parrinello
Jahyn Vittorio Parrinello (born 8 August 1983) is an Italian professional boxer
Professional boxing, or prizefighting, is regulated, sanctioned boxing. Professional boxing bouts are fought for a purse that is divided between the boxers as de ...
5–3 in the second and Irelands
John Joe Nevin, a World bronze medalist, in the quarter finals. Yafai lost in the semi-final 3–2 to the Russian Eduard Abzalimv and so securing the bronze medal. The tournament was Yafai's first outing at senior international level.
Domestically at only 17 years of age was crowned ABA flyweight champion in 2009 with a win over Adam Whitfield beating him 11–5 in the final. Gamal followed in the footsteps of his brother Khalid who won an ABA title in 2008. Of the victory Yafai's coach at his club in Birmingham Frank O'Sullivan said ''"I was concerned about Gamal’s stamina but he handled it well...He boxed superbly to instructions and finished the first round 2–2. At the end of the second it was 5–5 and Gamal then went all out to win and stormed to success 11–5...It was a cracking victory and now Gamal can go on and establish his own career and will, for instance, be boxing in the three nations for England at Liverpool at the end of May."'' Yafai did indeed box in the three nations tournament featuring competitors from England, Wales and Scotland once again meeting Adam Whitfield in the final and once again coming out on top, this time 13–4.
Professional career
Early career
Yafai vs. Leach
A 22-year-old Yafai turned professional in May 2014 at the
First Direct Arena in
Leeds
Leeds is a city in West Yorkshire, England. It is the largest settlement in Yorkshire and the administrative centre of the City of Leeds Metropolitan Borough, which is the second most populous district in the United Kingdom. It is built aro ...
on a Sky Sports card promoted by
Matchroom Sport
Matchroom Sport is a UK-based sporting event promotions company founded by Barry Hearn and run by him and his son Eddie Hearn. It first came to attention in the sports of snooker and boxing and is also involved in pool (cue sports), pool, bowl ...
. Yafai defeated Ricky Leach via a 1st-round TKO in a scheduled four round fight.
Yafai vs. Heath
Ten days later, Yafai fought on the undercard of
Froch-Groves II at
Wembley Stadium
Wembley Stadium, currently branded as Wembley Stadium connected by EE Limited, EE for sponsorship reasons, is an association football stadium in Wembley, London. It opened in 2007 on the site of the Wembley Stadium (1923), original Wembley Sta ...
against Jack Heath. Referee wisely stopped contest in round 1 with just 20 seconds remaining. Health was down twice, first from a head shot, and then a left hook to the body.
Yafai vs. Cajina
On 12 July, Yafai defeated 31-year-old Spanish journeyman Reynaldo Cajina on points. Referee John Latham scored it 40–36 to Yafai.
Yafai vs. Bellahcene
Two months later, Yafai faced off against French boxer Sofian Bellahcene at
Wembley Arena
Wembley Arena () (originally the Empire Pool, currently known as OVO Energy, OVO Arena Wembley for sponsorship reasons) is an indoor arena next to Wembley Stadium in Wembley, Greater London, England. The 12,500-seat facility is Greater Lond ...
, outpointing him (60–54) on the referee scorecard.
Yafai vs. Rogowski
After a 6-month lay off, Yafai returned to the boxing ring in March 2015, beating Polish boxer
Krzysztof Rogowski at the Ice Arena in Hull via 3rd-round TKO.
Yafai vs. Solano
Two months later, Yafai fought at the
Barclaycard Arena in Birmingham beating Spanish boxer Arnoldo Solano (14–7, 0 KOs) via points decision. The referee scored it 80–71 for Yafai.
Yafai vs. Lorente
In August, Yafai defeated Spanish boxer Angel Lorente at the
Craven Park Stadium in Hull via a 6-round points decision, after knocking him down once in round 5. The referee Michael Alexander scored it 60–53.
Yafai vs. Ramadhani
On 17 October 2015, Yafai was scheduled in his first ever 10 round bout as a professional at the Barclaycard Arena against Tanzanian boxer Nasibu Ramadhani. This was also a
Commonwealth
A commonwealth is a traditional English term for a political community founded for the common good. The noun "commonwealth", meaning "public welfare, general good or advantage", dates from the 15th century. Originally a phrase (the common-wealth ...
super-bantamweight
Super bantamweight, also known as junior featherweight, is a boxing weight classes, weight class in professional boxing, contested from and up to .
There were attempts by boxing promoters in the 1920s to establish this weight class, but few sanct ...
title eliminator. Yafai defied an injured left hand to earn a comprehensive 99–91 points victory. Yafai sustained the injury inside the opening three rounds and was put on the back foot, but regained his composure in the fifth and was on top by the sixth as he started landing hooks on Ramadhani, who struggled to connect.
Domestic and Regional
Yafai vs. Jenkinson
On 5 March 2016, in his ninth professional fight, Yafai stopped Bobby Jenkinson (9–1–1, 2 KOs) in seven rounds at the
Genting Arena in Birmingham to take the
Commonwealth super-bantamweight title. yafai picked up a cut four rounds in but followed up with a blistering show that ended with two knockdowns. The first knockdown coming from a straight left and the second from a left hook to the body. The victory took Yafai to 9–0, gave him his first belt and showed the watching boxing world he has the talent to follow in the footsteps of
Carl Frampton and
Scott Quigg in the future.
Yafai vs. Wale
It was announced that Yafai would make a first defence of his title at the
First Direct Arena on 30 July. His opponent was announced to be
Josh Wale (20–8–2, 11 KOs). Yafai was taken the 12 round distance for the first time since turning professional in 2014, making a first successful defence of his Commonwealth title. Yafai started off sharp and cut Wale over the right eye in the round 1, although a replay showed that it was due to a clash of heads. The three judges scored it 118–111, 117–112, 117–112, all in favour of Yafai.
Yafai was due to defend his Commonwealth title on 22 October 2016 against Sean Davis at the
Barclaycard Arena on the undercard of
Gavin-
Eggington
Egginton – or Eggington as it is now known – is a village and civil parish in the Central Bedfordshire district of Bedfordshire, England, about three miles east of Leighton Buzzard.
Apart from the village itself, the parish also inclu ...
, however on 17 October Yafai had to pull out after injuring his ankle in a training session. Paul Economides instead fought Davis for the vacant
WBC International title and Gamal's brother
Kal was also added to the card which was a warm-up fight.
Yafai vs. Gigolashvili
On 22 February 2017, Yafai lost his Commonwealth super bantamweight title after failing to take part in a mandatory. On 27 February, promoter Eddie Hearn announced that Yafai would travel to Germany for his first fight not on home soil on the undercard of the
WBA (regular) light middleweight title fight between
Demetrius Andrade and
Jack Culcay at the
Friedrich-Ebert-Halle in
Ludwigshafen
Ludwigshafen, officially Ludwigshafen am Rhein (; meaning "Ludwig I of Bavaria, Ludwig's Port upon the Rhine"; Palatine German dialects, Palatine German: ''Ludwichshafe''), is a List of cities and towns in Germany, city in the German state of Rh ...
,
Rhineland-Palatinate
Rhineland-Palatinate ( , ; ; ; ) is a western state of Germany. It covers and has about 4.05 million residents. It is the ninth largest and sixth most populous of the sixteen states. Mainz is the capital and largest city. Other cities are ...
. Yafai put on a concrete display throughout the six round fight to win via unanimous decision against Georgian journeyman Khvicha Gigolashvili.
Yafai vs. Davis
On 15 March, it was confirmed that Yafai would finally get a chance to compete for the
WBC International title against undefeated titlist
Sean Davis on the undercard of Kal's first world title defence at the
Barclaycard Arena in Birmingham on 13 May 2017. Yafai knocked Davis down six times winning the fight via stoppage in round 7. The first knockdown came in round 3, two more knockdowns following in round 5 and a further three knockdowns in round 7 before the fight was halted. Two of the knockdowns in round 7 where due to hard body shots.
Yafai vs. Starkey
In December 2017, Yafai spoke to Sky Sports discussing 2017 as a frustrating year. He stated that he wanted to fight British champion Thomas Patrick Ward in 2018. Yafai was scheduled to fight at the
York Hall
The York Hall, officially known as York Hall Leisure Centre, is a multi-purpose indoor arena and leisure centre in Bethnal Green, London. The building opened in 1929 and it is most famous as an international boxing venue with the first nights o ...
in London on 13 December, which Yafai said would help 'get rid of ring-rust'. This would mark the first time Yafai would fight at York Hall as a professional. Yafai fought a scheduled six round bout against Liverpool boxer Ricky Starkey, stopping him in the third round. Yafai next planned to fight again in January 2018.
Yafai vs. McDonnell
On 22 December,
Eddie Hearn
Edward John Hearn (born 8 June 1979) is a British sports promoter and the chairman of Matchroom Sport and Professional Darts Corporation. Hearn has promoted many world champion boxers through Matchroom, including Anthony Joshua, Canelo Álvar ...
announced that Yafai would make his first defence of the WBC International title against fellow British rival and former world title challenger
Gavin McDonnell (18–1–2, 5 KOs) at the
FlyDSA Arena in Sheffield on the undercard of
Kell Brook
Ezekiel "Kell" Brook (born 3 May 1986) is a British former professional boxer who competed from 2004 to 2022. He held the International Boxing Federation (IBF) welterweight title from 2014 to 2017, and challenged once for a unified middleweigh ...
's return bout on 3 March 2018. Yafai opened the
Okolie vs.
Chamberlain card at the O2 Arena in London on 3 February 2018 stopping Jose Hernandez in round 3 of their scheduled six round fight. McDonnell showed he had too much experience for Yafai in beating him via a 12 round unanimous decision, also winning the WBC International title. McDonnell used his height and reach advantage to win majority of the rounds, whilst also being more active. The three judges scored the fight 116–112, 116–112 and 117–113 in favour of McDonnell. In defeat, Yafai did well to land the occasional shots but ultimately could not keep up his work rate to match McDonnell.
Yafai vs. Aguilar
Yafai's next fight date was announced in July 2018, to be part of the JD: NXTGEN card on 4 August at the
Ice Arena
An ice rink (or ice skating rink) is a frozen body of water or an artificial sheet of ice where people can ice skate or play winter sports. Ice rinks are also used for exhibitions, contests and ice shows. The growth and increasing popularity of ...
in
Cardiff, Wales
Cardiff (; ) is the capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of Wales. Cardiff had a population of in and forms a Principal areas of Wales, principal area officially known as the City and County of Ca ...
. He was also scheduled to fight at the
Arena Birmingham
Utilita Arena Birmingham (previously known as Arena Birmingham, The Barclaycard Arena, originally as the National Indoor Arena and still commonly called The NIA) is an indoor arena and sporting venue in central Birmingham, England. It is owne ...
on 8 September 2018. He fought Nicaraguan boxer Jose Aguilar in a 6 round fight and stopped him with a left hook body shot in round 3.
Yafai vs. Mairena
Yafai was next scheduled to fight in his home city of Birmingham on 8 September on the
Amir Khan vs.
Samuel Vargas
Samuel Andrés Vargas Ariza (born 12 April 1989) is a Canadian-Colombian professional boxer.
Professional career
Vargas turned professional in 2010 at the age of 20, scoring a technical knockout (TKO) victory against Todd Furler in Montreal, Q ...
card. In a scheduled 8 round bout, Yafai knocked out Nicaraguan boxer Brayan Mairena in round 7.
Yafai vs. Rigoldi
On 17 December 2020, Yafai fought Luca Rigoldi, who was ranked #12 by the WBC and #13 by the IBF at super bantamweight. Yafai beat Rigoldi on points after twelve rounds of action.
Yafai vs. Cunningham
In his next bout, Yafai faced Jason Cunningham. In a close fight, Cunningham managed to edge out Yafai and win the fight via unanimous decision, 115-110, 114-111 and 114-111.
Professional boxing record
Titles in boxing
Regional/International titles:
*
Commonwealth super bantamweight champion (122 lbs)
External links
*
Gamal Yafai - Profile, News Archive & Current Rankingsa
Box.Live
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Yafai, Gamal
1991 births
Living people
English male boxers
Bantamweight boxers
Super-bantamweight boxers
English people of Yemeni descent
Boxers from Birmingham, West Midlands
21st-century English sportsmen