Sunny Edwards aims to plead his case as the best flyweight in the world.
The unbeaten Londoner is set for the second defense of his IBF flyweight title, as Edwards faces Pakistan’s Muhammad Waseem. Both fighters made weight for their scheduled 12-round fight, which headlines a Probellum card Saturday evening (local time) at Duty Free Tennis Stadium in Dubai, United Arab Emirates.
Edwards weighed 111.3 pounds for his second consecutive fight in Dubai, while Waseem was 111 ¾ pounds in his bid to become a major titlist on his second try.
The bout comes barely three months after Edwards (17-0, 4KOs) appeared in the luxurious city, effortlessly turning away previously unbeaten mandatory challenger Jayson Mama last December 11. Edwards won the title in a 12-round, unanimous decision over Moruti Mthalane last April 30 at the famed York Hall in Bethnal Green.
The supremely gifted boxer has emerged as a top flyweight, along with WBC champ Julio Cesar Martinez (18-2, 14KOs; 2NC). The two have developed a rivalry through the media, with such a fight determining championship lineage in a weight division that has lacked a true king since Roman ‘Chocolatito’ Gonzalez (51-3, 41KOs)—who recently outpointed Martinez in a non-title fight—abandoned his reign in 2016 to compete at junior bantamweight.
Waseem’s previous title bid resulted his lone career defeat, a competitive 12-round decision loss to Mthalane in July 2018. Four straight wins including 12-round decision over Rober Barrera last November 26 in Dubai.
In the co-feature, former WBA junior welterweight titlist Regis Prograis faces Tyrone McKenna in a 12-round WBC junior welterweight title eliminator.
The stakes required Prograis (26-1, 22KOs) to weigh no more than 140 pounds for the first time since his narrow points loss to Josh Taylor in October 2019 during the World Boxing Super Series finals. Prograis—a Houston-bred boxer originally from New Orleans—complied, tipping the scale a fighting fight 138.9 pounds.
McKenna (22-2-1, 6KOs)—a 6’1” southpaw from Belfast—weighed 139 ½ pounds for what is by far the most significant fight of his ten-year career.
Also on the show, former IBF junior featherweight titlist TJ Doheny (22-3, 16KOs) aims faces former interim titlist Cesar Juarez in a pivotal 10-round battle for both fighters.
Doheny—an Irish southpaw based out of Bondi Junction, Australia—weighed 127 pounds in his first fight since a 12-round defeat to two-time Olympian and recent title challenger Michael Conlan in their WBA interim featherweight title fight last August in Belfast. Despite the brave showing, Doheny has now lost three of his last four starts.
Mexico City’s Juarez (27-10, 20KOs) was 125.9 pounds during Friday’s weigh-in, as the 30-year-old looks to extend his current two-fight win streak after having suffered three consecutive defeats.
The show airs live on Fubo Sports Network throughout North America, including the U.S.
Below are the weights for the rest of the undercard.
Peter McGrail (2-0, 1KO), Liverpool, UK, 125 pounds vs. Uriel Lopez (13-18-1, 6KOs), Mexico City, 123 pounds—6 rounds, featherweight
Hovhannes Bachkov (2-0, 1KO), Gyumri, Armenia, 142.4 pounds vs. Cristian Rafael Coria (29-9-2, 13KOs), Famailla, Argentina, 142.4 pounds—10 rounds, junior welterweight
Jamie King (2-0, 2KOs), Dubai, 202.8 pounds vs. Naveen Verma (4-1, 4KOs), India, 198.4 pounds—4 rounds, cruiserweight
Bader Samreen (4-0, 3KOs), Amman, Jordan, 135.8 pounds vs. Denis Bartos (6-2, 5KOs), Kladno, Czech Republic, 134.9 pounds—6 rounds, lightweight
Khalid Ayub (2-0, 0KOs), Sheffield, UK, 176.4 pounds vs. Annem Sivareddy (1-2, 0KOs), India, 176.4 pounds—4 rounds, light heavyweight
Faizan Anwar (11-0, 5KOs), Calcutta, India vs. Khojiakbar Qodirokhunov (4-0-1, 3KOs), Sahrihan, Uzbekistan —8 rounds, welterweight (Weights T/K)
Fahad Al Bloushi (8-1, 2KOs), Dubai, 131.8 pounds vs. Mohamed Kashinde (11-8-7, 2KOs), Dar-Es-Salaam, Tanzania, 132.1 pounds—6 rounds, junior lightweight
Jake Donovan is a senior writer for BoxingScene.com. Twitter: @JakeNDaBox