Yafai, from Birmingham, will be hoping to extend his perfect record to nine wins when he takes on Edwards at BP Pulse Live.

It is the first time he has competed in his hometown since his first-round stoppage win against Tommy Frank in August 2023.

“I love fighting in my hometown, I love fighting in the UK,” Yafai said.

“It’s nice to go to America and fight in New York at Madison Square Garden and in Las Vegas, but nothing beats fighting at home and for this fight it really is home.”

But the 31-year-old’s life could have been completely different.

Although Yafai was an avid boxing fan from a young age, he only began learning the profession in his late teens and almost decided to give up the sport as he found it difficult to balance training and work.

“I worked at the Land Rover factory in Solihull,” said Yafai.

“I always dreamed of boxing for Great Britain at the Olympics and I did that twice. When I think about it now, it seems surreal.”

“It was hard balancing work and boxing and I got to the point where I just wanted to quit because it was too much, but luckily I persevered and the rest is history.”

After failing to medal at the 2016 Rio Olympics, Yafai took home gold from Tokyo at the Covid-19-postponed 2021 Games – just four months after Edwards became world champion.

“One thing I have about Sunny: I’m an Olympic champion, he can’t be,” Yafai said.

“He was world champion, but I can be world champion. I can be both, but he can only be one.”