GALAL YAFAI booked his place in the final of Tokyo 2020’s men’s flyweight tournament with a hard-fought semi-final victory over Kazakhstan’s Saken Bibossinov.
The Birmingham bruiser turned in an eye-catching display at the Ryogoku Kokugikan to earn a split-decision victory.
Yafai came out like a bat out of hell, immediately pouring on the pressure and unloading punches in bunches.
A big left hand stunned Bibossinov and resulted in him receiving a standing eight count.
Yafai didn’t relent after the restart, going back to work in the short range and mixing up his shots well.
To his credit, Bibossinov rallied late in the round but not enough to take the stanza.
Yafai’s lead uppercut continued to trouble Bibossinov early in the second, in which he has swarmed again.
But unlike in the previous round, Bibossinov began to put pressure on the Brit – who boxed comfortably on the back foot.
The better quality shots came from Yafai, but the judges gave the second round to the Kazakh.
Round three proved to be a war of attrition, with both men looking to impose their will with punishing shots in close range.
Both men were confident of victory after the final bell, with Yafai beating his chest and Bibossinov raising his hands in delight.
But it was Yafai’s handiwork in the third that the judges preferred, awarding the Brit a split-decision victory.
Bibossinov was in tears after the decision was announced and was briefly consoled by his opponent.
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