Kal Yafai predicts an avalanche of titles once British belt is secured
Wednesday 14 October 2015 08:11, UK
Kal Yafai is sure victory over Jason Cunningham in their fight for the British super-flyweight belt will kick-start an avalanche of titles.
Yafai (16-0 KO11) picked up the vacant Commonwealth and IBF Inter-Continental titles in 2014 and his two most recent fights have ended inside the opening three minutes.
And the 26-year-old expects another quick night's work against Cunningham in Birmingham, his opponent coming into the fight with a 17-2 record after four successive victories since a defeat by the experienced Jason Booth at the end of 2014.
"It is a proud moment for me to be fighting for the British title," said Yafai, who expects to step up in class if Cunningham is swept aside.
"I won the Commonwealth title last year and I want to win the British as well before moving on to try and achieve World honours. It will be a very big moment when I win that title.
"I have seen quite a bit of Jason Cunningham in the last eight weeks or so. My trainers have studied him and I leave it mostly down to them and they tell me what to do. I stayed behind to watch him in Leeds when we both fought on the same bill in September, so I know quite a bit.
"I expect him to be on the move and to try and use his height. I don't expect him to come and try and have a fight with me because that would just make it an early night.
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"I expect him to try and hit and move but I know what I have to do. With him, I know I have the ability to outbox him even though he is quite a lot taller than me. I know I can push him onto the back foot and outfight him as well. It is a matter of getting in there, seeing what he has to offer in the first rounds and I will take it from there.
"If I connect early then I can assure you it will finish early and I would like to get him out of there in four or five rounds, but in boxing anything can happen. I will be looking to box him, land my shots and as soon as I feel it is time to get him out of there, I will get him out of there, no doubt about it. I will be very clever about this job and I will make sure it is a very professional performance."
The Birmingham card also sees Sam Eggington defend his British and Commonwealth welterweight titles against old rival Dale Evans, while Matthew Macklin takes on Jason Welborn for the vacant WBC International light-middleweight title. Yafai's brother Gamal is also in action.
Watch Kal Yafai, Sam Eggington and Matthew Macklin from the Barclaycard Arena live on Sky Sports 1 HD on Saturday - coverage starts at 8.00pm.
