Charlie Edwards shocked the boxing world by winning his first world title as a pro.
On the undercard of Dillian Whyte's knockout win over Dereck Chisora at the O2 Arena in London, Edwards defeated Cristofer Rosales to win the WBC flyweight title. Edwards won the bout by unanimous decision with scores of 116-112, 118-110 and 117-111.
Edwards had spent the fight outboxing Rosales in the first half of the fight, utilizing the jab while Rosales tried to work the body. Edwards suffered a cut in the seventh round and Rosales sought to overwhelm the Brit with barrages in the ninth and 10th round as well. Edwards managed to weather the storm and emerged victorious. It was Edwards' second world challenge as he was unsuccessful when he fought John Riel Casimero for the IBF flyweight title in 2016.
It is the second time this year that the WBC flyweight title surprisingly changed hands. Back in April, Rosales scored a major upset by scoring a ninth-round TKO victory over Japanese star Daigo Higa and now Edwards, who had come into the fight ranked No. 14 in the WBC rankings, becomes the new world champion.
While there is no word on when Edwards will defend his title or against whom, the WBC already made steps to produce a mandatory challenger for Edwards' new championship. The company "Clase y Talento Boxeo" won a purse bid to host a title eliminator between Andrew Selby and Julio Cesar Martinez, the top two flyweights in the WBC rankings.
