Latest news with #Kal
Scottish Sun
a day ago
- Sport
- Scottish Sun
I worked late shifts at a Land Rover factory but hated it so much it inspired my Olympic dream, says Galal Yafai
Click to share on X/Twitter (Opens in new window) Click to share on Facebook (Opens in new window) GALAL YAFAI would be so tired from training that he would nod off during his factory shifts - but he never slept on his Olympic dream. The pint-sized flyweight had to watch older brothers Kal and Gamal win titles in the professional ranks while he worked overnight for Land Rover. Sign up for Scottish Sun newsletter Sign up 2 Galal Yafai won Olympic gold in 2021 Credit: PA And juggling the exhausting shifts with training almost caused him to throw in the towel on his boxing career - before he got on the Team GB squad. Yafai, 32, told SunSport: "It was a Land Rover factory in Solihull, they've got a big factory there that build the Land Rovers Discoveries and Defenders. "So I was working there, delivering the parts and whatnot for like three years in the factory. So it's full time it's proper work, it weren't part time. "So I kind of had to juggle boxing and work at the same time for three/four years and I actually got to a point where I was going to quit boxing. READ MORE IN BOXING BOXING SCANDAL World champ trainer and Amir Khan's former opponent guilty in cocaine trial "I just thought, you know what, I'm 22, 23, now, I'm enjoying life. I'm going out and getting paid. I got my apartment with my brother and I was just enjoying life. "But just the stress of work too, it was getting hard to juggle boxing so luckily I got onto the Great Britain team, just before I decided to leave." Yafai would train from 5pm, clock in for work at 8pm and finish sometimes at 7am - before doing it all again. He hated it so much that the boxer was inspired to go to the Olympics - just so he could finally hand in his P45 after sleeping on the job. CASINO SPECIAL - BEST CASINO BONUSES FROM £10 DEPOSITS Yafai said: "It was just a nightmare. I'd have to train and go straight to work and do an eight-nine hour shift. I used to dread going into work. "I remember I used to see my brothers boxing, as pros and think, 'Oh, they're so lucky to get to just box for a living. I have to go to work and I have to train as well.' Anthony Joshua given hero's welcome on boxing trip to Ghana as Brit shows off his motorbike skills "It was hard training too so I'd have to to box and go straight to work, which was a nightmare, and do an eight hour shift. "I remember I'd fall asleep on my little buggy, I used to drive a buggy around and I used to fall asleep on there sometimes and some of the gaffers would go mad at me. "But yeah, I just thought, 'You know what, I need to stick at this because I could do something.' And thank God it worked out." Yafai packed up his job and became a full-time amateur boxer for Team GB - earning a spot on the 2020 Tokyo team. And after winning gold, Yafai turned pro a year later with Eddie Hearn and the hopes of replicating older brother Kal - the ex-WBA world champion. And Yafai made a super-quick start in the paid ranks - boxing in a ten-rounder for the WBC International title in his very first bout. He said: "Me and my coach thought I was good enough to start off in ten rounders. I used to drive a buggy around and I used to fall asleep on there sometimes and some of the gaffers would go mad at me. Galal Yafai "And Eddie said, 'Well, why not go for an international title?' We were like, 'Brilliant.' "But I want to get to a world title, so any minor title in between is, yeah, not too bad, I won't put it up on my mantelpiece, but it's nice to have. "It just so happened to be WBC International and hopefully I'll be fighting for the WBC full title soon." Yafai returns on Saturday in his home of Birmingham against Francisco Rodriguez Jr, Mexico's former WBO champ. Awaiting the winner is a shot at unified WBA and WBC champion Kenshiro Teraji. Yafai said: "I'd expect it, but you never know in boxing. Rodriguez is a top five competitor. "He's a former champion, he fought the best of the best, so it's not an easy fight. People don't really know him too well but I can't look past him. "He's a really good fighter and that's the thing nowadays, if people don't know who you're fighting, they don't think they're that good, which is the biggest mistake someone can make because he's a really good fighter but he's just not hugely well known here. "I'm not looking past him. He's a great fighter and hopefully I can get rid of him Saturday."
The Irish Sun
a day ago
- Sport
- The Irish Sun
I worked late shifts at a Land Rover factory but hated it so much it inspired my Olympic dream, says Galal Yafai
GALAL YAFAI would be so tired from training that he would nod off during his factory shifts - but he never slept on his Olympic dream. The pint-sized flyweight had to watch older brothers Kal and Gamal win titles in the professional ranks while he worked overnight for Land Rover. Advertisement 2 Galal Yafai won Olympic gold in 2021 Credit: PA And juggling the exhausting shifts with training almost caused him to throw in the towel on his boxing career - before he got on the Team GB squad. Yafai, 32, told SunSport: "It was a Land Rover factory in Solihull, they've got a big factory there that build the Land Rovers Discoveries and Defenders. "So I was working there, delivering the parts and whatnot for like three years in the factory. So it's full time it's proper work, it weren't part time. "So I kind of had to juggle boxing and work at the same time for three/four years and I actually got to a point where I was going to quit boxing. Advertisement READ MORE IN BOXING "I just thought, you know what, I'm 22, 23, now, I'm enjoying life. I'm going out and getting paid. I got my apartment with my brother and I was just enjoying life. "But just the stress of work too, it was getting hard to juggle boxing so luckily I got onto the Great Britain team, just before I decided to leave." Yafai would train from 5pm, clock in for work at 8pm and finish sometimes at 7am - before doing it all again. He hated it so much that the boxer was inspired to go to the Olympics - just so he could finally hand in his P45 after sleeping on the job. Advertisement Most read in Boxing CASINO SPECIAL - BEST CASINO BONUSES FROM £10 DEPOSITS Yafai said: "It was just a nightmare. I'd have to train and go straight to work and do an eight-nine hour shift. I used to dread going into work. "I remember I used to see my brothers boxing, as pros and think, 'Oh, they're so lucky to get to just box for a living. I have to go to work and I have to train as well.' Anthony Joshua given hero's welcome on boxing trip to Ghana as Brit shows off his motorbike skills "It was hard training too so I'd have to to box and go straight to work, which was a nightmare, and do an eight hour shift. Advertisement "I remember I'd fall asleep on my little buggy, I used to drive a buggy around and I used to fall asleep on there sometimes and some of the gaffers would go mad at me. "But yeah, I just thought, 'You know what, I need to stick at this because I could do something.' And thank God it worked out." Yafai packed up his job and became a full-time amateur boxer for Team GB - earning a spot on the 2020 Tokyo team. And after winning gold, Yafai turned pro a year later with Eddie Hearn and the hopes of replicating older brother Kal - Advertisement And Yafai made a super-quick start in the paid ranks - boxing in a ten-rounder for the WBC International title in his very first bout. He said: "Me and my coach thought I was good enough to start off in ten rounders. I used to drive a buggy around and I used to fall asleep on there sometimes and some of the gaffers would go mad at me. Galal Yafai "And Eddie said, 'Well, why not go for an international title?' We were like, 'Brilliant.' "But I want to get to a world title, so any minor title in between is, yeah, not too bad, I won't put it up on my mantelpiece, but it's nice to have. Advertisement "It just so happened to be WBC International and hopefully I'll be fighting for the WBC full title soon." Yafai returns on Saturday in his home of Birmingham against Francisco Rodriguez Jr, Mexico's former WBO champ. Awaiting the winner is a shot at unified WBA and WBC champion Kenshiro Teraji. Yafai said: "I'd expect it, but you never know in boxing. Rodriguez is a top five competitor. Advertisement "He's a former champion, he fought the best of the best, so it's not an easy fight. People don't really know him too well but I can't look past him. "He's a really good fighter and that's the thing nowadays, if people don't know who you're fighting, they don't think they're that good, which is the biggest mistake someone can make because he's a really good fighter but he's just not hugely well known here. "I'm not looking past him. He's a great fighter and hopefully I can get rid of him Saturday." 2 Gamal Yafai, Galal, amateur coach Frank O'Sullivan and Kal Credit: Instagram / matchroomboxing Advertisement
Geek Dad
04-06-2025
- Entertainment
- Geek Dad
Review – Absolute Superman #8: Showdown in Smallville
Absolute Superman #8 cover, via DC Comics Ray: For the last few issues, we've been teased about what happened in Smallville. One emotional issue showed us the few weeks Kal-El spent in the small town, being found by Jonathan and Martha Kent when he was a teenager. You could see that they would have shown him the same love they did if they found him as a baby – but then Lazarus Corp came, hunting him, and Kal was forced to flee. And all these years later, that's still the only place he ever felt safe. But this isn't the Smallville he left. The town has been fully taken over by the shadowy corporation, turning the farmers into modern serfs. Jonathan Kent is long gone, and Martha Kent languishes in a memory care center. Kal tries to visit, but she doesn't recognize him. And so he prowls the streets of Smallville – along with Lois Lane, and Omega Man Jimmy Olsen. Put to the test. Via DC Comics. The three main players have been in opposition from the start, with Lois not sure she can fully turn her back on her father's army yet and Jimmy not trusting anyone associated with them. And Superman, of course, stuck in the middle. But now, the Peacemakers are about to enter the fray, led by the mad and cybernetically-enhanced Agent Smith, turned into a raging monster. The action in this issue is intense, but as usual with the Absolute Universe, there's a great emotional underpinning to every issue. And then there's the main villain, Ra's Al Ghul. Whether he's the true big bad of this series or Brainiac is, it's hard to tell. But after last issue's spotlight for Brainiac, what we see of Ra's here is no less terrifying. Here more a mad warlord than the utopian we often see him as, he's further gone – and plays a key role in introducing Kryptonite to the world of Superman, raising the stakes even higher. To find reviews of all the DC issues, visit DC This Week. GeekDad received this comic for review purposes. Liked it? Take a second to support GeekDad and GeekMom on Patreon!
