Birmingham’s first-ever modern-day World Champion Kal Yafia announced his retirement after losing in the first round as he fought for the WBA inter-continental Bantamweight title in Inglewood USA (18.11.23). Yafia (34) was taking on Johnathan (24) Rodriguez for this vacant title which was scheduled for ten rounds. Yafia was put down twice before being stopped on his feet two minutes and seventeen seconds into the first round.
Yafia said after the contest “I had it on here (on his shorts), ‘the last dance’. I had it engraved in my shorts. I knew I was coming to the end, anyway.”
Kal is the oldest brother of three fighters with middle brother Galmal (32) being a former EBU European super-bantamweight champ and the youngest brother Galal (MBE) (30) who won a bronze at the 2018 Commonwealth Games and then won gold at the 2020 Olympics and is now looking for world titles as a professional boxer.
Kal walks away from boxing after having an amazing amateur and professional career winning 153 amateur fights (Junior & Senior) out of 175 winning multiple medals fighting for Birmingham ABC and team Gee Bee. Below is a roundup of Khalid’s achievements as an amateur.
From Kal Yafai’s Wikipedia page.
In June 2005, he won a silver medal in the European Cadet Championships in Hungary, recording 4 wins before losing in the final to Russian Farid Aleshkin. He received the BBC Midlands 2005 "Junior Sportsman of the Year" award after he became England's first ever U17 World Boxing Champion when he won the World Cadet title winning the junior flyweight title against Luis Yáñez of the United States.
Fighting for Birmingham City ABC, he became one of the youngest British (ABA) champions in December 2006 while still 17, at the World Junior Championships 2006 in Agadir, Morocco. He lost in the quarter-final to the eventual Cuban winner Alexei Collado.
At the 2007 European Junior Championships, he lost in the 51K final to Russian Misha Aloyan As Britain's youngest team member at the 2007 Seniors World Championship, the 18-year-old beat his Armenian opponent Derenik Gizhlaryan, but later lost to Violito Payla of the Philippines.
He then qualified for the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing in the 1st Olympic qualifying event in Pescara, Italy, where he stopped teammate Mo Nasir of Wales and then went on to beat the 2004 Olympian Igor Samolencko of Moldova to qualify. He then pulled out of the final due to injury.
After qualifying for the 2008 Olympic Games he participated in the 2008 European Union championships in Poland where he won a silver medal beating former Olympic boxer Redouane Asloum of France (RSCO2) in the semi-finals but then losing a controversial 13–10 decision to home favourite and Beijing Olympian Rafal Kaczor.
At the Olympic Games, Khalid was beaten in the round of 16 by Cuban veteran Andry Laffita who went on to claim the silver medal. Khalid was absent at the 2008 European Amateur Boxing Championships in Liverpool, England but made a return in the Gee Bee Championship in April 2009 in the 54 kg class (bantamweight) and claimed gold beating European silver medallist Salomo N'tuve of Sweden.
Yafai lost to Andrew Selby 26:12 on 11 November 2011 to deny him qualification for the 2012 Olympic Games after the pair both reached the last eight of the 2011 GB Amateur Boxing Championships in Baku. Yafai and Selby were scheduled to face each other three times to decide the winner, but Yafai pulled out of the second fight, thus handing a shot of the Olympics to the Welshman.
In 2012, Yafai was named "Young Boxer of the Year" by the British website BoxRec.
As a professional, he made his debut July 7th, 2012 at the age of 23 as a Bantamweight at Sheffield Arena on a Kell Brook undercard. He won the Commonwealth Super Flyweight title in his eleventh contest stopping Yaqub Kareem in three rounds. Yafia then won the IBF Inter-continental Super Flyweight title in his next fight stopping Herald Molina in the second round. In September 2015, Yafai fought in his hometown of Birmingham at the Utilita Arena taking on Jason Cunningham for the British Super Flyweight title beating him on a unanimous decision. Yafai then fought again in Birmingham at the Resorts World Arena stopping Dixon Flores in the first round and winning the vacant WBA inter-continental Super Flyweight title.
In December of 2016 Kal won the WBA Super Flyweight World title at Manchester Arena when he beat Luis Concepcion on unanimous decision. Yafia then went on and made five defences of his world title with his rain lasting until February of 2020 when he lost his title in his first defeat to Roman Gonzales.
Yafai then had one more fight in November of 2022 winning a ten-rounder on points before his final fight in November 2023.
Dexter’s Thoughts
What an amazing career Kal Yafai has had as an amateur and a professional boxer. He has achieved so much in his time and can walk away very proud of himself. I have read other writers say he shouldn’t of had his last contest knowing that it was his ‘last Dance’ but I disagree as myself as a Boxer (not at Kal’s level) you need to know yourself if there is anything left in the locker. Yafai knows now and I am sure he will continue in boxing training the next generation of fighters and helping his brother Galal achieve world title status. The Birmingham Boxing Column congratulations Kal Yafai on all his achievements in boxing and wish him all the best in his retirement.
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