Sunny Edwards showcased boxing brilliance at its finest—the 28-year-old former flyweight champion took on Adrian Curiel of Mexico at Footprint Center, Phoenix, Arizona. From the starting bell, it was clear ‘Showtime’ was the better boxer, as he danced around Curiel using his fancy footwork to land blows after blows.
Meanwhile, an outmatched ‘Gatito’ was having a hard time catching his opponent. However, things took a turn for the worst when an accidental headbutt opened up a huge gash over Edward’s right eye. Still, Edwards endured and decided to continue the fight after the ringside doctor took a closer look. Despite this brave move, the audience present at the venue booed as Edwards was given a unanimous technical decision win at the start of round 9.
Sunny Edwards’ fighting spirit!
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After the fight concluded, and Edwards got his hand raised, which he deserved for his fantastic performance, talkSport editor Michael Benson hopped on X to write, “Sunny Edwards on the horror cut in his win over Adrian Curiel: ‘I’ve managed to leave Arizona uglier than I came’”. Benson even shared a picture of Edwards’ horrific cut over his right eye!
Sunny Edwards beats Adrian Curiel by technical decision as the fight is stopped after eight rounds due to huge cut to Edwards. Classy win as he showboats and comprehensively outboxes Curiel despite the cut in his first fight back after his defeat to Jesse ‘Bam’ Rodriguez.
— Michael Benson (@MichaelBensonn) June 30, 2024
The judges scored the fight 82-90, 84-88, 85-87, all in Edwards’ favor, but for some reason the crowd didn’t like the fact that the fight was stopped during the ninth round. So, the likes of Virgil Ortiz Jr. and Sergio Mora hopped on social media to praise ‘Showtime’ for his brilliant work in the ring, alongside a plethora of fans who felt the same way.
Utter domination meets high praise
Despite the reaction from the Arizona crowd, fans online were smitten with Edwards’ performance. IFL TV hopped on X to condemn the Arizona crowd, highlighting that most fighters would have stopped the fight right when the cut appeared. Edwards endured the pain and kept fighting till round 9.
Absolutely disgraceful scenes in Phoenix. The crowd booing Sunny Edwards after he tried to fight on with a cut that would have made a lot of fighters quit. Disgusting.#EdwardsCuriel | #EstradaBam
— IFL TV (@IFLTV) June 30, 2024
Meanwhile, one user praised Edwards for his utter domination, claiming Curiel couldn’t get the upper hand even for a single round. In fact, Edwards was leading the scorecard in every round. The win was absolutely deserved.
#sunnyedwards absolutely dominated that fight, not 1 round that Curiel could even get close! Bravo brother 👏🏾
— Keenan Gibson (@gibson10_keenan) June 30, 2024
Reacting to the fight Virgil Ortiz Jr. Commended Edwards’ pure boxing skills. Interestingly, Edwards even asked for a title shot after the fight ended, branding himself the biggest name in the division.
Sunny boxing beautifully
— Vergil Ortiz Jr. (@VergilOrtiz) June 30, 2024
Meanwhile, this user reacted to Edwards’ comment on his horrific cut, sarcastically praising his self awareness. But the cut could have gotten worse, if it were not for the ringside doctor, Edwards was ready to dance for the entire twelve rounds.
Respect for the self-awareness 😄🫡
— WG (@NvictusManeo) June 30, 2024
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Even former boxer Sergio Mora reacted to the fight with a couple of emojis to express his thoughts about Edwards’ performance.
— Sergio Mora 🐍 (@TheLatinSnake_) June 30, 2024
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Even though the crowd in Arizona failed to appreciate the effort from Sunny Edwards, these reactions reveal the rest of the world is still in awe of his dominance. The fight was his first since suffering his first career loss at the hands of Jesse Rodriguez in December last year, so hopefully, fans will see Edwards continue his climb to greatness. What did you think of Edwards’ performance?