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Sunny Edwards presented his case as the best flyweight in the world.
The unbeaten IBF flyweight titlist from Croydon, London made the first successful defense of his crown with a convincing twelve-round, unanimous decision over Philippines’ Jayson Mama. Judges ruled in favor of Edwards by scores of 118-109, 118-109 and 117-110 in their AXS TV headliner Saturday evening at Coca-Cola Arena in Dubai.
Edwards entered the fight as the more naturally gifted boxer, exhibiting those skills in the opening round. Mama had a difficult time defending against Edward’s jab, which was throwing both as a feint and as a weapon over the course of the bout. Edwards connected with clean right hands to set an early tone.
Both boxers were guilty of head clashes in round two. Mama aimed to assert himself, only for both boxers to collide at center stage. Edwards was left with a cut along the right side of his hairline, though unbothered by the wound.
Edwards took the lead in round three, landing several straight right hands to catch the attention of Mama. Edwards set up the shots with a pawing left, also throwing jabs with full force to keep Mama at bay.
Mama enjoyed his best moment of the fight to that point in round four, connecting with a left hand that caught the attention of Edwards. The moment was short-lived, as Edwards otherwise remained in control of the action while boxing from both an orthodox and southpaw stance.
Edwards fought largely behind the jab in rounds five and six, offering constant movement to disrupt the rhythm of his challenger. Mama stood directly in front of the defending titlist but never had a chance to plant his feet long enough to ignite a sustained offensive attack.
More of the same transpired in round seven. Edwards spent nearly the entire frame boxing on the outside, either dodging or blocking most of the incoming shots. Mama attempted a right hand which was blocked by Edwards, who circled Mama’s left shoulder to land a counter right.
Mama landed a pair of body shots midway through round eight, a rare segment that saw Edwards stand still long enough to get caught. Edwards took the shots well, resetting his feet and reestablishing his desired distance while boxing mostly out of the southpaw stance.
Edwards showed a rare power surge in round ten with a straight left and chopping right hand to floor Mama one minute into the frame. Mama claimed it to be the result of a shot behind the head, though replays showed that it landed just behind the challenger’s left ear. Edwards coasted through the rest of the round, literally standing still and daring Mama to hit him in the closing seconds.
Mama (16-1, 9KOs) connected with an overhand right late in round eleven, his final notable moment of a fight that didn’t nearly feature enough of them for the soon-to-be-defeated challenger.
The loss is the first for Mama (16-1, 9KOs), who waited more than a year for his first title shot. He was originally due to challenge two-time IBF titlist Moruti Mthalane last December in South Africa, only for a corrupt local promoter to cause the unexpected, last-minute cancellation of the event.
Edwards wound up getting to Mthalane beforehand, delivering a terrific boxing performance in a twelve-round unanimous decision on April 30 at the famed York Hall in the Bethnal Green section of London. Saturday marked the first successful title defense for Edwards, who advances to 17-0 (4KOs).
The intention of the supremely gifted boxer is to unify the belts in 2022. Of particular interest to Edwards is a showdown with WBC flyweight titlist Julio Cesar Martinez, who fought Charlie Edwards—Sunny’s brother—to a No-Decision in August 2019.
Edwards-Mama was elevated to the main event of Probellum’s inaugural show in Dubai after losing its other title fight. John Riel Casimero withdrew from his planned WBO bantamweight title defense versus mandatory challenger Paul Butler, citing a bout with gastritis prior to Friday’s pre-fight weigh-in.
Jake Donovan is a senior writer for BoxingScene.com. Twitter: @JakeNDaBox