Eddie Hearn signs Olympic champion Galal Yafai to long-term promotional deal

The Olympic gold medalist is turning professional under the same banner as Anthony Joshua and will fight for his first title on his debut next month at The O2 in London

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Olympic gold medalist Galal Yafai has signed a long-term promotional deal with Eddie Hearn and Matchroom Boxing to start his professional career.

Yafai became an Olympic champion at last summer’s delayed Tokyo games, and has been courted by a number of top promoters for his signature as a professional.

But he has opted to sign with Hearn, who famously has turned Anthony Joshua into one of the biggest stars in the world and a two-time champion after his Olympic success in 2012.

And the 29-year-old, whose brothers Gamal are both champions at professional level, will immediately challenge for the WBC international title in his professional debut on February 27 at the O2 Arena in London.

The event will be headlined by former Olympian and current cruiserweight world champion Lawrence Okolie’s world title defence against Michal Cieslak.

“The goal now is to win a World Title,” Yafai said in a statement today.

“I know there’s not many who have won Olympic Gold and then a World Title so hopefully I can add my name to that list.

“There’s some great current World Champions out there at the minute, I’m not going to call out any names but my time will come – I have set my sights on being at the very top.

“I’ve boxed all over the World with Team GB, it’s made me into a better fighter no doubt. I’ve fought and sparred with many styles which will stand me in good stead in the pro game.

“Eyes will be on me as a pro but I thrive on the pressure and it’s a really exciting time to be entering this new chapter of my career.”

Hearn has likened Yafai to Vasily Lomachenko, and wants to fast-track him on the path to a world title fight as part of what he calls a “lucrative” promotional deal.

It took Joshua nine fights in his professional career to fight over ten rounds for an international title, and fellow 2012 gold medalist Liam Campbell 11.

Will Galal Yafai become a world champion as a professional? Let us know your thoughts in the comments section below!

But Hearn believes he will be a multiple-weight world champion, and wants to start him on that path sooner than later.

“I’m over the moon to secure the signature of Olympic Gold Medallist Galal Yafai,” Hearn added. “We welcome him with open arms to the Matchroom Boxing and DAZN team.

“Galal was the standout British fighter at the Games and we have a long-standing relationship with his brothers, so it was personally very important to me to get this done.

“Galal is going to do things very differently; for his professional debut at the O2 we are looking for him to challenge for his first professional title and from there move quickly to a World Title which we expect him to win across multiple divisions.

“This young man is an exceptional talent and you are going to be able to watch him on the biggest shows all over the world live on DAZN.”