Sunny Edwards takes tremendous pride as one of the sport’s best pure boxers.
The unbeaten IBF flyweight titlist also thrives on serving as the ultimate heel.
Not even a language barrier has spared Andres Campos’ of Edwards’ charmful brand of trash talk ahead of their title fight this weekend. Edwards has taken every opportunity to raise the temperature, thriving in the spotlight in the lead-in to his DAZN and Matchroom Boxing debut.
“I don’t mind being the antagonist,” Edwards stated during the final pre-fight press conference. “I don’t naturally feel like I have to go out and impress people, make people like me. I’d rather wind people up so that people want to see me get beat. It’s just more frustrating watching me make this little muppet look silly for twelve rounds, if I let it go that long.
“I’m going to send him back to the mountains of Chile with nothing but a little paycheck from you, Eddie [Hearn]. So the only person he really has to thank is [Hearn].”
Edwards (19-0, 4KOs) is a massive -1600 favorite to turn away Campos, according to bet365 sportsbook who lists the visiting Chilean as a +900 underdog in his first title fight. The lopsided odds are in line with the bulk of the two-plus year title reign enjoyed by the 27-year-old Croydon, London native, a social media fixture who has rapidly emerged among the best flyweights in the world.
With most experts picking Edwards to win in dominant fashion, the defending titlist has sought other means to sell this weekend’s main event from AO Arena Wembley in London. Unfortunately, his challenger hasn’t been as quick to reciprocate.
“We had the face-to-face. The muppet didn’t even take his hat off,” Edwards said of their first staredown earlier in fight week. “He wants to talk about disrespect, trying to bounce the beak of his cap off my head. So, I dashed it off his head and didn’t get no reaction. He stood there for five seconds like a rabbit in headlights. He was nervous and tried to laugh it off and smile. I could see he was a beaten man.”
Jake Donovan is a senior writer for BoxingScene.com. Twitter: @JakeNDaBox