[2] One of his earliest opponents was Billy Phillips, an average Welsh bantamweight who fell to Edwards in April and January 1913 in Porth and Tonypandy in two eight round points decisions.

Britain's 1910 featherweight champion Jim Driscoll, a fellow Welsh boxer from nearby Cardiff, acted as a mentor to Edwards in his career.

[2] Edwards defeated featherweight contender Alec Lambert in a seventh-round knockout on 4 May 1914 at London's prestigious National Sporting Club at Covent Gardens.

Lambert boxed in the traditional, upstanding British style and kept a light leading left typical of amateurs, but he had developed a strong punch as a professional.

[3] The Welsh boxer, as a rising star, began a winning streak on 22 September 1913 that continued nearly uninterrupted until 13 May 1915, when he next met Owen Moran for the title.

Edwards first defeated Young Joe Brooks, and then Seaman Arthur Hayes in a first-round TKO in the British featherweight title eliminator at London's Covent Garden on 5 April 1915.

These wins allowed him to face the exceptional British champion Owen Moran in the title match on 31 May 1915 at Covent Garden's National Sporting Club, the most prestigious boxing venue in London.

With one hundred wins already in his record, the Cincinnati Enquirer, picked Edwards to become the new British champion, and he handily achieved the feat after Moran was disqualified in the tenth round for repeatedly punching low.

One week earlier, he had stunned a sizable audience by knocking out featherweight contender Harold Walker in one round at the West London Stadium.

His decision to avoid military service cost him in popularity and denied him a shot at the world feather or lightweight titles during the war years when he was at the peak of his career.

He had previously knocked out Edward Duarte on 26 March, in a third round sweep, with vicious one-twos, and two rights to the body that sent his opponent to his knees where he was counted out.

[2] On 26 February 1920, a taller, younger, and stronger Richie Mitchell knocked down Edwards in Milwaukee, Wisconsin in the sixth and his handlers threw in the towel before the bell for the seventh.

[13] Returning briefly to Britain on 28 May 1920, Edwards faced Johnny Regan at Carbrook, Yorkshire, reversing his loss against Mitchell and winning in the third of twenty rounds.

[16] Edwards remained boxing in the United States through late 1920, when he lost to Clonie Tait at Nicolete Park on 12 November 1920 in a second-round TKO.

It appeared clear the Welsh boxer was outclassed, tiring, and facing a painful decline in his boxing career by the end of his American tour.

On 4 April 1921, in a non-title bout, Edwards defeated Sid Godfrey, a highly rated future Australian lightweight title holder five years younger, in an important twenty round points decision at Sydney Stadium.

The Sydney Daily Telegraph called the match, "a contest full of fight with both men displaying a scientific knowledge above the ordinary, speed, punching power and tenacity."

[18] Edwards mounted a last defense of the Australian lightweight title before an impressive crowd of 9000 on 23 April 1921 in a twenty-round bout in Melbourne, Australia, against frequent but dangerous rival New York Jewish boxer Harry Stone.

Edwards was confused by Stone's ability to quickly retreat in his hopping style after he attacked[19] Their April 1921 title fight was described as an outstanding show of scientific boxing with both boxers well matched.

[20] Recovering from earlier losses, Edwards seemed to look tired and a bit haggard during the bout, and suffered from a cut over his eye received in the fifth, though he fought with vitality and strength.

[22] Edwards dreamed of, but never achieved a shot at the lightweight world title, held at the time by American Benny Leonard, who had wrenched it from fellow Welshman Freddy Welsh.