Sunny Edwards couldn’t help but notice the irony.
The dexterous British flyweight has never received more support in his career than in the aftermath of his first career loss to Jesse “Bam” Rodriguez last weekend in Arizona.
In a unification of flyweight titles, San Antonio’s Rodriguez outclassed London’s Edwards, stopping him in the ninth round of their scheduled 12-round title bout.
Edwards, who has developed a trollish persona online in recent years, was humbled by the fact that he was able to participate in what he feels was the biggest event of his career. He admitted that most of his wins were “boring” in nature but his tussle with Rodriguez, contrary to expectations, turned out to be fan-friendly barnburner.
“I’ve probably had more positive comments losing in a good fight than I have from winning all my boring fights,” Edwards told Boxing News. “It meant something being part of an event that people genuinely cared about. Either side, they really wanted me to win or they really wanted Bam to win or they really wanted to find out how the fight went. Every other time I’ve boxed, there’s been something happening in boxing that night bigger and I felt like that week, especially that fight night, I feel like it kind of took over the boxing world. And rightfully so. When two young fighters put up their ‘O’s and their world titles, everything is up for stake, it should be celebrated as it was.”
Edwards, who is promoted by Matchroom Boxing’s Eddie Hearn, said he is eager to be involved in more “big nights” in boxing.
“I grew up and come through seeing flyweight world champions fighting at 7:30, 8:00 [pm] on the undercard of a big night’s boxing,” Edwards said. “I’ve now become the big nights of boxing and I’ll do everything I can do be there again and again and again. Spoke to Eddie and Frank Smith, they’re on the same page as me. They think my stock has risen. They think more people want to see me fight than ever and ever before. Also they know I’m a very easy person to make a fight with. I’m very professional, I turn up, I do everything that is asked of me, I do more than what is asked of me, really, so I’m looking forward to the future. I still feel like there’s years and years and years ahead of me, achievements and accolades.
“Genuinely being a part of an event that the boxing world felt that’s what I seek. That’s what I again and again go after. I just want the fights that people actually care about happening because for pretty much 19 of my fights, 20 of my fights maybe, it was the Sunny Edwards show and people didn’t really care because they were expecting me to win, do you know what I mean?”
Sean Nam is the author of Murder on Federal Street: Tyrone Everett, the Black Mafia, and the Last Golden Age of Philadelphia Boxing.