After months of hoping to secure a unification with WBC Flyweight World Champion Julio Cesar Martinez, Edwards has had to settle for a mandatory title defence against Nicaragua’s Felix Alvarado, as per Boxing Scene.
The IBF title holder had hoped to return the WBC belt back to the Edwards family, by defeating the Mexican champion who dethroned his brother, Charlie. Martinez won the fight by knockout in the third round, but the bout was later ruled a no-contest because of an illegal punch, only for Martinez to then defeat Cristofer Rosales to win the vacant belt.
However, despite rumours of a deal for the two champions to fight in Mexico, it appears that talks have halted, with Edwards now facing Alvarado on November 11th in London, having been ordered to defend his belt by the IBF. This will be no walkover for the Brit though, with Alvarado boasting a record of 38-2 and was the IBF World Light-Flyweight champion, until he recently vacated the belt.
On his twitter Edwards claimed that Julio Cesar Martinez was running from him:
Funny way of saying “after Martinez shat it from Edwards..” https://t.co/GK97r1AK7q
— Sunny Edwards (@SunnyEdwards) September 27, 2022
By contrast, the 26-year-old seems to respect Alvarado as a quality opponent and stated that his counterpart is the only fighter under 115lb “who’s actively done anything to make a fight” with him during his career.
facts. The only fight under 115lb who’s actively done anything to make a fight with me in my career also🤝 https://t.co/FMfsu0ypXR
— Sunny Edwards (@SunnyEdwards) September 27, 2022
This will be a homecoming of sorts for ‘Showtime’, who hasn’t fought in front of a home crowd since he won the British flyweight title against Marcel Braithwaite in 2019. He will undoubtedly be the star of the show in London but needs to be cautious against a man with a knockout ratio of over 80%. The venue for the fight has yet to be announced.