Hit and don't get hit.
Sunny Edwards rode the sweet science strategy to shock Moruti Mthalane by unanimous decision Friday night at York Hall in London to become the new IBF world flyweight champion. Judges had it 120-108, 118-111 and 115-113 all in favor of Edwards who handed the dominant South African his first loss in nearly 13 years. Prior to this, Mthalane's last defeat came at the hands of Nonito Donaire back in November 2008.
The 25-year-old Edwards lived up to his "Showtime" nickname with savvy ring generalship, as he kept the heavy-handed Mthalane at a safe distance with the jab and a high volume of punches. As Edwards landed shots on the outside, he further stifled the 38-year-old Mthalane by sticking and moving, as the South African veteran just couldn't seem to land anything of real significance over the course of the 12-round fight.
Edwards further complicated Mthalane's night by switching from orthodox to southpaw at times. The clever, busy-punching boxing paved the way for Edwards (16-0) to not only win, but coast as he was up by so many rounds that he let his motor wane over the latter frames en route to the dominant decision victory in the best performance of his young career.
Michael Conlan edges Ionut Baluta via majority decision
It was a lot tougher than he expected, but Conlan managed to edge Baluta with a majority decision, inching closer to a possible world title shot in the near future.
Judges had it 117-112, 115-114 and 114-114 for the Irish fighter to get the slight nod, but it wasn't easy.
Although Conlan asserted the jab early and used it to power his way to the eventual victory, he left himself vulnerable to too many counters and surprising shots from Baluta on the other end. That made for a closer contest than Conlan had anticipated. Yet, by the final bell, Conlan had done just enough to have his hand raised in the first super bantamweight and 12-round fight of his career.
How soon the 29-year-old can book a world title fight opportunity remains to be seen, as Conlan now stands at 15-0 with 8 KOs.