Gala Yafai hated his job. He hated shifting boxes, he hated having a boss and he hated being told what to do.
Boxing was his passion and working in a Land Rover factory in Solihull wasn’t getting him any closer to following in the footsteps of his older brothers and living his pugilism dream.
Then, an invite to join the GB Boxing squad towards the end of 2015 changed everything – enabling him to quit the car factory and head to his first Olympic Games ten months later.
Things didn’t quite go to plan for Yafai in Rio, as he joined the almost endless list of boxers in Olympic history who have been outfoxed by a wily Cuban – losing a split decision to Joahnys Argilagos in the light flyweight round of 16.
Suddenly, the Brit had a taste for it though and, less than six years on from grinding away at Land Rover, he is now in an Olympic final and just one step away from his lifelong dream of taking home gold.
🥊 @galal_yafai will fight for gold.
— Team GB (@TeamGB) August 5, 2021
Yafai wins an enthralling contest after beating Kazakhstan's Saken Bibossinov 3:2.#TeamGB pic.twitter.com/ZZSjh3QmQR
“I was working in a Land Rover factory in Solihull, Birmingham. I was working, grafting, dreaming of being at an Olympic Games,” explained the Birmingham boxer.
“I was doing the rubbish, I was picking up boxes, delivering parts, just the skivvy jobs really.
“To be fair, people pushed me towards quitting. I hated working there, I’m not going to lie. I wanted to be a boxer for years. I hate getting told what to do, now I’m my own boss kind of.
“I got to Rio a year later, it didn’t work out for me – I’ve waited five years and it’s paying off now. I’m on the verge of becoming Olympic champion – thank God.”
Yafai has jinked his way through the men’s flyweight draw at Tokyo 2020 with a deftness of foot not dissimilar to that he shows in the ring.
A stoppage victory over Armenia’s Koryun Soghomonyan saw him through the round of 32, a split decision triumph against Patrick Chinyemba of Zambia ensured he didn’t fall at the round of 16 hurdle for a second time, before a strong final round dispatched Yosvany Veitia of Cuba in the quarter-finals.
Thursday’s semi-final against Kazakhstan’s Saken Bibossinov – a world bronze medallist in 2019 – was one of the fights of the Olympics.
Both men traded flurries of punches, Bibossinov was given a standing eight count inside a minute and Yafai eventually edged to victory on three judges’ scorecards, with the Kazakh preferred on two.
So, when he was lugging boxes around a factory, did Yafai know that one day he’d be in an Olympic final?
“No chance,” he admitted. “I used to dream of being here of course. I used to just dream of being on Team GB to be honest.
“Then I got into Team GB and went to the Olympics in Rio – a bit too early for me. They persuaded me to stay on and now I’m in the Olympic final. Hopefully I can become Olympic champion.”
Yafai is part of a boxing dynasty, as older brother Gamal, 29, has held European and Commonwealth titles at professional level, while 32-year-old sibling Kal was WBA super-flyweight champion for four years and also competed at the 2008 Olympics.
Standing in the way of the youngest Yafai bettering his brothers accomplishments in Saturday’s final (2pm local time, 6am BST) is Carlo Paalam of the Philippines.
Yafai carting boxes around a factory was a cakewalk compared to the background of Paalam, who was picking garbage at the sanitary landfill in Cagayan de Oro from the age of nine.
Both men are somewhat surprise finalists and while the Brit doesn’t know too much about his foe, he is aiming to repeat that stunning performance that saw him overcome Bibossinov.
“I’ve never fought him before but we sparred a few years ago,” added Yafai. “He’s surprised me to be fair – no-one expected me and him to be in the final.
“It goes to show – you put in the hard work, you can make a final and get the rewards. I’ll need to do what I’ve done in every fight and more.”
Team GB are on for a joint record boxing medal haul from an overseas Olympics – their six podium finishes matching the tally from Antwerp 1920.
A first gold has thus far proved elusive, but Yafai is desperate to end that streak and was forthright when asked whether the lack of the most precious medal is affecting squad morale.
“Not really. Ben Whittaker and Pat McCormack both got silvers – losing out to double Olympic champions,” he said.
“People don’t understand how hard these guys are. Iglesias [Roniel Iglesias, who beat McCormack in the welterweight final] is now a double Olympic champion, Arlen López [who beat Whittaker in the light heavyweight final] is now a double Olympic champion – it’s going to be hard to beat those guys isn’t it.”
Carlo Paalam won’t be easy either but even if he loses, as an Olympic finalist, Yafai’s days of working in a factory are long behind him.