IBF flyweight champion Sunny ‘Showtime’ Edwards 20-0 (4) moved closer to a coveted unification bout with WBO counterpart Jesse ‘Bam’ Rodriguez 18-0 (11) with a clear-cut 12-round points decision victory over Andres Campos 15-1 (4) at Wembley Arena in London, England on Saturday night.
The slick-boxing Edwards, 27, opted to mix it up with the pressure fighting Campos of Chile, alternating his attack from long range to in close and even boxing for periods off the ropes.
The Englishman switched stances throughout the bout and seemed just as successful whether he was boxing southpaw or orthodox.
The 26-year-old Campos pressured Edwards throughout the bout, but even when he managed to find his target, he was met with accurate return fire in combination.
When the dust settled, all three judges awarded the bout to Edwards by identical scores of 117-111.
Edwards has long believed he is the number one 112-pound boxer in the division and is determined to prove it by collecting the three remaining belts that aren’t in his possession, starting with Rodriguez’s WBO strap.
Speaking about the Campos fight, Edwards said: “I knew it was going to be tough, obviously I talk a lot but I knew it wouldn’t be easy.
“He came to change his life tonight and I knew I had my eye on the future.
“Going backwards, no one can touch me. When I want to sit, square-shouldered, I could put everyone to sleep. I gave Campos and his travelling fans a couple of rounds. I was trying to hit the body. I got the space when I needed it.
“The nine rounds I wanted to box and move, I won so clearly. When I want to burn some energy and sit on the ropes he can score some points and catch me but that’s only because I let him.
“I’m the only one [champion] in the division that has beaten a former world champion.
“All these fighters picked up vacant belts. I had seven weeks to train and just two days to find someone for this fight. I want to the big fights now. You’ll never get the best out of me in a fight like this.
“I’m the number one in the division. When Bam Rodriguez announced he was coming to flyweight he said he was going to fight me for my belt in the UK but he didn’t. He wants to negotiate 50/50, I want that too.”
Promoter Eddie Hearn added: “He will fight everybody and he needs to. You won’t see the best of Edwards against Campos. It was a good performance, but maybe a performance that will have made over champions keen to fight him.
“Rodriguez against Edwards would be a fantastic fight. You would see him another level than in this fight.
“He has to defend his title, but he has to chase his legacy and that is where you will see the best of him.
“Him against Rodriguez is a fantastic pound-for-pound fight. I will guarantee you he will be in a unification fight next.”
