The Utilita Arena in Birmingham, England, witnessed a stunningly one-sided encounter on Saturday night as flyweight prospect Gamal Yafai (5-0, 4 KOs) dismantled his unfortunate opponent Tommy Frank (15-4-1, 3 KOs) in the main event on DAZN.
From the opening bell, Yafai demonstrated his superiority, sending Frank to the canvas with a leaping right hook within the first 30 seconds of the bout. When the action resumed, Yafai unleashed a barrage of punches against a visibly overwhelmed Frank, prompting the referee to intervene and call a halt to the fight at 1:40 of the first round.
The fight was never really expected to be a competitive one, but it was clear that Yafai’s promoter, Eddie Hearn, had anticipated it to last longer than a single round. He had originally wanted Jay Harris as the opponent for Yafai on the night, but given Yafai’s performance, it likely wouldn’t have mattered. Harris, too, would probably have succumbed to Yafai’s power, albeit not in the first round, as Yafai is not traditionally seen as a big puncher. Rather, his victory came from the sheer volume of punches against an opponent with no discernible speed, power, or talent.
The 2020 Olympic gold medalist Yafai had a clear game plan, overwhelming the slow and outmatched Frank with a relentless onslaught of punches from the get-go. Yafai’s confidence was evident, as he never seemed concerned about any retaliation from Frank, who was too preoccupied with defending himself to even think about mounting an offensive of his own.
Speaking about Yafai’s future, Eddie Hearn expressed his belief that Yafai is ready for a world title and may be facing top contenders like Bam Rodriguez and/or Sunny Edwards within the next year. He also mentioned potential match-ups with Cuadras or Rungvisai as significant steps up for Yafai, confidently stating, “I think he’s ready for it.”
The night’s undercard also featured welterweight Conah Walker (12-2-1, 4 KOs) achieving an eighth-round knockout victory over Cyrus Pattinson (6-1, 4 KOs), after knocking Pattinson down three times in the contest. Additionally, heavyweight prospect Solomon Dacres (7-0, 2 KOs) secured a ten-round unanimous decision against Chris Thompson (12-5-1, 7 KOs), with judges scoring it 99-91, 99-91, and 98-92.