[1] Edwards was seen as a real British title challenger, and whilst an amateur, boxing writer Nat Fleischer described him as the ...best prospect I've seen since Sugar Ray Robinson.
His first fight as a pro was against Fred Leek at the Drill Hall in Willenhall on 28 October 1952, and Edwards stopped his opponent in the second round via a knockout.
When the referee made his decision to award the fight and the Welsh title to Edwards, after the bout went the full distance, there was uproar from the crowd.
[3] After the Tiger fight, Edwards was back to winning ways, and was victorious in his first four fights of 1958, defeating Commonwealth title challenger Lew Lazar, Scotland's John Woolard, journeyman Jimmy Lynas, and in his first overseas bout Edwards travelled to Gothenburg where he dispatched Swedish middleweight champion Olle Bengtsson.
His opponent was Londoner Terry Downes, and Edward's team made the decision for him to sit back in the early rounds to play on Townes supposed weakness as a distance fighter.
Despite having beaten Paso twice in earlier meetings, Edwards suffered a technical knockout in the fourth round, resulting in his first back-to-back losses of his professional career.
Matters worsened in February 1961 when he fought John "Cowboy" McCormack, who had briefly held the British middleweight title in 1959.
He started well beating his first three opponents by points, but on 24 September he faced George Aldridge at Granby Halls in Leicester for another eliminator for the British title.