York Hall. Friday Night. Proper Stakes.
Right then — Charlie Edwards and Sikho Nqothole walk to the ring tonight at York Hall in Bethnal Green, and the winner becomes the IBF mandatory at super flyweight. That is the gig. No second prize. Edwards has said openly that this is his last go in the game. Nqothole has shrugged and said bring it on. Class.
Weights came in clean on Thursday — Edwards 114.8, Nqothole 114.5, both well inside the 115 limit. Nobody dehydrated on the scales, nobody making excuses on the morning of. That is exactly how you want a final eliminator to feel.
What Edwards Brings
People forget how good Charlie Edwards was at his peak. Former WBC flyweight world champion, brilliant feet, sharp shot selection, brain like a chess computer. The career has been start-stop since he moved up to super-flyweight, and the layoffs have added up. But when he is on it, he is genuinely tricky to box. Anyone who watched the Cristofer Rosales win knows what he can do over twelve.
This is his last go because if he loses he is not getting another mandated route to a belt. Nobody is going to fund a third comeback. He knows it. The training videos have looked sharp, the body looks lean, and the head looks right. That is half the battle for a fighter who has been in and out.
What Nqothole Brings
Sikho Nqothole is the proper South African graft merchant — relentless, awkward, comes to work. He is not flashy. He will not out-skill Edwards in the first three rounds. What he will do is press the pace, target the body, and try to make every exchange ugly. If he can get Edwards in a phone box, the fight changes.
The travel is the question mark. Coming to London, fighting in front of an Edwards crowd, on a final eliminator he has worked years for — that is pressure. He sounded calm at fight week though. "Bring it on" is the line, and he has fought enough proper fighters to back it up.
The Read
Edwards UD12, a hard-but-clear decision. I see Charlie boxing the first six on the back foot, conceding rounds where he has to, then turning the screw from round seven once he has Nqothole's timing read. 116-112 type fight. The crowd carries him over the line in the last two. He calls out the IBF champion in the ring straight after, and then we see if the eliminator means anything at all.
How To Watch
Live on DAZN from London. MF Pro card. Edwards-Nqothole main event ringwalks around 10pm BST. Worth staying up for — final eliminators are where careers turn.