It was 11 years ago, during a stint as a factory worker at Land Rover, that Galal Yafai decided to follow in the footsteps of his two older brothers and into a boxing career.

Oldest brother Kal was a dozen or so fights into his pro career and a Commonwealth champion while middle brother Gamal was 4-0 in the paid ranks. The expectation Galal faced to replicate their success, he says, was non-existent. The trio had been fighting each other all their lives and, in his mind, it was just about taking seriously a sport he'd only participated in for fun until the age of 22.

Over a decade on and Yafai (9-0, 7 KOs) is an Olympic gold-medallist and stands on the brink of his first world title shot as a professional after just nine fights.

"Everyone thought I was a bit mad because I was taking a really big cut in money," Yafai told The Ring.

"But I hated working. I worked at the Land Rover factory in Solihull and I hated it. People used to try and tell me what to do because I'm a small guy. 'Pick those boxes up'. I used to give them attitude back.

"At the same time I just enjoyed going out, I was at the age where you just wanna do things with your mates. I was boxing but not seriously, and that's when Sunny [Edwards] beat me as an amateur.

"I thought 'that's me done'. But my coach convinced me to give it another year and then I got on GB in September 2015, that's when I took things more seriously."

Kal and Gamal are now retired, but the former became a world champion while the latter won European honours. Galal, now 32, having picked up gold at Tokyo 2020, turned over and signed with Matchroom before making his debut in February 2022.

This weekend in Birmingham he takes on 47-fight veteran Francisco Rodriguez Jr (39-6-1, 27 KOs) in a mandated WBC flyweight title eliminator. The winner will be in line to take on WBC and WBA titleholder Kenshiro Teraji (25-1, 16 KOs), who is also The Ring's No. 9 pound-for-pound fighter.

Though the fight is steeped in importance, Yafai admits his sixth-round stoppage win over career-rival Edwards last November was bigger for his career.

"My last fight was bigger against Sunny, there was more on the line for me," Yafai adds. "There was more at stake. It was more personal. A lot more people know Sunny as well, I guess. I did not want to lose to him at all. I don't want to lose to anybody but him more so than anyone else.

"Rodriguez Jr is a good fighter, I don't know much about him, but he's a former world champion and a top Mexican fighter. If you're asking me to pick 'Do I wanna lose to Sunny or Rodriguez?' I'm going to choose Rodriguez."

Throughout his nine fights, particularly in the victory over Edwards, Yafai has conducted himself in a cold and calculated manner. The stone-faced expression he had on his face while drowning Edwards with waves of attacks tells the story. "It doesn't look like I'm trying, but trust me I am."

His focus in the ring is easily-mistaken for emotionlessness. Yafai knows one slip-up and it's back down the pecking order in a less than glamorous division.

"Maybe if it was a heavyweight and generating millions and millions I'd feel less pressure," he says. "But it's a bit harder to come back from a loss in my situation. You might get another chance, but I think it's just the pressure of that which keeps me focussed. I'm not scared of being hurt, I don't think any fighter is, but I don't want to lose the lifestyle I have. I'm comfortable and unbeaten, I just don't want to lose that."

Yafai knows, from a lifetime of fighting with his brothers and competing with their talents, that to be successful he needs to remain switched on. Needless to say, Kal and Gamal are always around to give advice, even when Galal jokes that it isn't warranted.

"The mad thing is," he laughs. "I've become an Olympic champion. I won numerous medals, Commonwealth champion. I've had nine fights as a pro, fought all over the world, in America and everywhere. I'm on the cusp of fighting for a world title. But they still treat and talk to me like I'm a novice. 'You've got to do this guy'. I'm like, 'I've got more experience than you.' But I always listen to them because they boxed for so long. It's nice to have my brothers there, they've been there from the start.

"I was like 7 years old, Gamal was 9 and Kal was 11. So they used to always beat me up. Now there's not too much of a gap. I could probably beat them up now."

Teraji awaits Yafai later this year, most likely in Japan in December, if the unified champion gets past Ricardo Sandoval in July and Yafai passes his test at BP Pulse Live Arena on Saturday night.

But just as he wouldn't do in Tokyo before winning Olympic gold, Yafai won't get ahead of himself now. He doesn't brag about bulletproof confidence and he never will. Up to now, all of his achievements have been down to his performances in the ring, not the law of attraction.

He says: "I never once thought,'I'm going to be Olympic champion, I'm definitely going to be Olympic champion'. I just thought, 'I'll give it my best shot and if it happens, great, if not then it is what it is'. I'm the same as a professional now.

"Hopefully, I'll become world champion. I could do it, I might not. Fingers crossed, innit?"