IBF flyweight champion Sunny Edwards 18-0 (4) has stated he wants to unify the 112-pound division after his 12-round point win over Muhammad Waseem 12-2 (8) at the Duty Free Tennis Stadium in Dubai on Saturday night.
It was a classy display from the 26-year-old Brit who mixed it up at times but used his footwork when required to evade Pakistan’s Wassem forward rushes.
The scores were 115-111, 116-110 and 115-111 all in favour of Edwards. Waseem, 34, had two points deducted in rounds six and seven.
“I wanted to mix it up a little bit and Waseem is a world-class operator and very good inside,” said Edwards after the fight. “I thought I had the rounds bagged, but you need to prove it in here, you need to learn on the job. I thought I was always one step ahead tonight.”
“Muhammad is a world class operator and he and his team came with a good game plan.
“There was a lot on the line tonight but I didn’t want to just run, run, run, I wanted to mix it up and I felt I won comfortably in the end.
“I now want the Ring Magazine belt and the WBC title and I know [WBC champion Julio Cesar] Martinez wants the fight so let’s make it happen, it will be huge.”
“Congratulations to Sunny tonight, he was the better man,” said Waseem.
“I felt it was very unfair of the referee to take points off me, I don’t know why he did it – this is a fight!”
In the main support bout former WBA junior welterweight champion Regis Prograis 27-1 (23) stopped Tyrone McKenna 22-3-1 (6) in six. McKenna was down in round number two. The time of the stoppage was 1:40.
“I knew he was tough,” said Prograis. “I dropped him but I knew he was gonna get up. When he got up it felt like he wasn’t hurt at all. I just stayed calm and boxed him.
“I’m just going to keep improving and getting better. I was the world champion three years ago and I want to be world champ again. I’ve been at that level; I was number one in my division and I’m trying to get back up there again.”
Before the fight McKenna said Prograis’ lack of activity would give him the edge.
“He’s fought only three times in the last three years, so he needs to put out a statement to show he’s still a big name,” McKenna said. “There’s a lot of pressure on him. There’s no pressure on me.”
In other action, former IBF super bantamweight champion TJ ‘The Power’ Doheny 23-3 (17) scored a second round stoppage over Cesar ‘Corazon’ Juarez 27-11 (20). The bout was contested at featherweight.
Doheny lost his title in a unification bout against then-WBA champion Danny Roman 29-3-1 (10) by majority decision three years ago.
