Sadam Ali | |
|---|---|
 Ali in 2010 | |
| Born | September 26, 1988 |
| Nationality | American/Yemeni |
| Other names | World Kid |
| Statistics | |
| Weight(s) | Welterweight Light middleweight |
| Height | 5 ft 8 in (173 cm) [1] |
| Reach | 73 in (185 cm) |
| Stance | Orthodox |
| Boxing record | |
| Total fights | 30 |
| Wins | 27 |
| Wins by KO | 14 |
| Losses | 3 |
Sadam Ali (born September 26, 1988) is an American former professional boxer who held the WBO junior middleweight title from 2017 to 2018. He also challenged once for the WBO welterweight title in 2016.
Ali was born in 1988 in Brooklyn, New York. He was raised there by his Yemeni-immigrant parents, and has four sisters and a brother. Ali began boxing at the Bed-Stuy Boxing Club in the neighborhood of Bedford-Stuyvesant at the age of eight, after being inspired by Yemeni-British boxer "Prince" Naseem Hamed. [2]
Ali is a Junior Olympic National Champion, a PAL National Champion, a U-19 National Champion, and a two-time New York City Golden Gloves champion.
In 2006, Ali won the National Golden Glove Championship in the featherweight division in 2006 at the age of 17. Ali then represented the United States at the 2006 World Junior Championships, where he won a bronze medal after losing in the semifinal round to eventual gold medalist Yordan Frometa of Cuba by a score of 41-39, [3] in a bout in which two points were deducted from Ali because he was weaving too low.
In 2007, Ali moved up to lightweight and again won the National Golden Glove Championship in his new division. [4] Ali is only the second boxer to win it in two different weight classes in consecutive years in New York. Later that year, he was upset by Jerry Belemontes of Corpus Christi, Texas 13-12 in the quarterfinal round of the U.S. Boxing Championships. [5] However, in August 2007, Ali defeated Belemontes and finished in first place in the lightweight division at the U.S. Olympic Trials in Houston, becoming the first boxer from the five boroughs of New York City to win at the trials since Riddick Bowe in 1988. While this did not immediately qualify him to represent the United States in the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing, he became the sole American lightweight permitted to compete in three Olympic qualification tournaments to be held over the ensuing eight months, for one of the six berths allocated to lightweights from the Americas. Ali was the first Arab-American to represent the United States in the Olympics.
The first of the three Olympic qualification tournaments was the World Amateur Boxing Championship, which was held in Chicago in the fall of 2007. Ali was eliminated in a competitive second round match by Armenia's Hrachik Javakhyan. As only one lightweight from the Americas qualified in Chicago, five berths remained open.
Three weeks after the Chicago tournament, Ali participated in a "USA vs. China and Kazakhstan" exhibition event held in Zunyi. Ali's doping test at the exhibition returned positive for Cathine, a banned stimulant found in the illegal Yemeni drug Khat. [6] The infraction carried a potential two-year suspension from amateur competition, which would have disqualified him from the 2008 Summer Olympics.
Ali accepted a voluntary indefinite suspension on November 22, 2007. However, he maintained his innocence and appealed to the International Boxing Association ("AIBA") to overturn the test results, Ali hired an attorney to challenge the findings and allegations. Ali argues he had taken Cathine inadvertently after contracting a cold in China, but widespread use of stimulant drug Khat is known among the Yemeni American community. His doctor later admitted medicines he had given Ali, when mixed together could have created the positive test for Cathine. [7] The Olympic Games Committee bars cathine in concentrations of over five micrograms per milliliter in urine. In February 2008, Ali agreed to drop his challenges in exchange for a three-month ban retroactive to the date on which he had originally accepted his voluntary suspension. [8] Since his ban had expired on February 22, 2008, Ali was allowed to participate in the two remaining Olympic qualification tournaments held in the Spring of 2008.
Ali qualified for the 2008 Olympics by finishing in second place at the AIBA 1st Americas Olympic Qualifying Tournament held in Port of Spain, Trinidad and Tobago in March 2008. He defeated Jesus Cuadro of Venezuela in the quarterfinal round, and Juan Nicolas Cuellas of Argentina in the semifinal round. He lost by decision in the final round to Cuba's Yordenis Ugás by a score of 13-5. round. [9]
On August 11, 2008, Ali was outboxed at the Olympic Games in his opening match, losing by decision to Georgian Popescu of Romania, by a score of 20-5. Ali turned professional after the 2008 Olympics.
His overall amateur record was 89-19, including a win over Terence Crawford.
On January 17, 2009, Ali made his pro debut and needed just 1:42 to defeat Ricky Thompson. [10] Ali recorded a third round stoppage of Julias Edmunds in his first live televised fight on ESPN on July 16, 2010, at The Prudential Center in Newark, New Jersey. He returned to The Prudential Center on August 21, 2010, in his second televised bout and knocked out Lenin Arroyo on the undercard to Tomas Adamek versus Michael Grant. On December, 9th to finish the year Ali on his 2nd PPV event fought to a unanimous decision against Manuel Guzman to record his 11th win. On April 9, in his 3rd PPV televised bout Ali knocked out Javier Pérez in the 3rd Round On the Tomas Ademek undercard.
November 6, 2010 Brooklyn, N.Y., welterweight Sadam Ali (10-0, 6 KOs), the 2008 U.S. Olympic lightweight and the first Arab-American boxer to go to the Olympics, scored an overwhelming second-round knockout of New Orleans' Gary Bergeron (12-6, 7 KOs).
Ali started fast, hammering a defensive Bergeron in the first round. He was landing solid uppercuts and left hands to the body before dropping him with a left hook to the chin. Bergeron survived, but Ali was crushing him with combinations as the round came to an end. Ali landed 37 of 92 punches in the opening round.
It was more of the same in the second round. While Ali was blasting him with left hook after left hook, Bergeron could little more than try to hold on, but he couldn't even do that effectively. Ali dropped him with an uppercut and was smashing him until a three-punch combination to the head badly staggered him again, forcing referee Lindsey Paige to stop the fight at 2 minutes, 18 seconds. Ali outlanded Bergeron 70-8 in the fight.
Ali signed with Golden Boy Boxing on June 24, 2013 to promote his boxing career. [11]
On November 8, 2014, Sadam Ali took on Juan Carlos Abregu and was heading into the fight as a big underdog. Ali had upset the odds and defeated Abregu, the fight was stopped in the 9th round and ruled as a TKO victory which meant Ali had won the welterweight title. Ali had knocked down his opponent in the 6th and 9th round before the fight had been stopped. [12]
On April 25, Ali defeated Francisco "Chia" Santana in a unanimous decision Madison Square Garden, Ali landed 196 of 588 punches (33 percent). Ali was quoted after the fight saying, "I'm thrilled with my victory," Ali said. "It's a dream come true to fight here at Madison Square Garden. I'd like to fight a top-10 contender in my next fight. He was a tough fighter. He hits very hard, but I was able to take his punches." [13]
Ali took a step up in class to fight Californian volume puncher Jessie Vargas in March 2016 for the WBO welterweight title left vacant by Timothy Bradley. While many pundits expected a close fight, Vargas landed more blows and the more effective blows in what was a decisive victory for him. Vargas knocked down Ali in rounds eight and nine. Vargas landed a brutal body shot followed by a right to the head to knock Ali out on his feet and win the vacant WBO world title. Vargas was ahead on all judges scorecards at the time of TKO (79-72, 77-74 twice). [14] Vargas landed 159 punches from his 428 thrown compared to 118 landed from 408 thrown from Ali. [15]
Since losing to Vargas, Ali won two fights and on July 29 headlined a Goldenboy event against Venezuelan former WBA interim champion Johan Perez. This was expected to be a stern test for Ali but was an opportunity to become a title contender again. "A win in this fight puts me right back in position to compete for a world championship," Ali, who fights out of Brooklyn, New York, said. "I can't wait to get back in the ring and demonstrate the speed and power that has led me to be a top contender in the welterweight division." [16]
The 37-year-old legendary Puerto-Rican fighter had his moments against the 29-year-old New York native, but in the end, Ali's speed and fresher legs proved to be the difference and he sent the future Hall of Famer out on the losing end. After the bout, Ali was gracious and appreciative of the opportunity: ”Good things happen to good people. I have been training since I was 8 years old, and I am glad I got this win at MSG, in my hometown.” Cotto came in as the favorite in the bout, but Ali showed he was up to the task early in the fight as he staggered the rugged legend with a hard right hand. Cotto landed some nice body shots and he stopped Ali's attack on a few occasions with combinations. However, Ali landed more consistently from beginning to end. The boxing community chimed in with varying levels of respect.
In his second title defence, Ali faced Mexican prospect Jaime Munguia. Munguia was ranked #4 by the WBO and #7 by the WBC at the time. [17] Munguia proved to be too big and too strong for Ali, dropping him twice in round one, once in round two and once in round four, before the referee had seen enough. Ali showed a lot of heart in the fight, but Munguia simply dominated all of the rounds. [18]
In his next fight, Ali went back to welterweight and faced Mauricio Herrera. Ali managed to get the unanimous decision victory, winning 100-90, 99-91 and 98-92 on all three judges' scorecards. [19]
In August 2019, Sadam Ali became a boxing coach and he trained YouTuber Slim for the YouTube boxing event Fousey vs. Slim.[ citation needed ]
| 30 fights | 27 wins | 3 losses |
|---|---|---|
| By knockout | 14 | 3 |
| By decision | 13 | 0 |
| No. | Result | Record | Opponent | Type | Round, time | Date | Location | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 30 | Loss | 27–3 | Anthony Young | TKO | 3 (10), 2:38 | May 4, 2019 | T-Mobile Arena, Paradise, Nevada, U.S. | |
| 29 | Win | 27–2 | Mauricio Herrera | UD | 10 | Dec 15, 2018 | Madison Square Garden, New York City, New York, U.S. | |
| 28 | Loss | 26–2 | Jaime Munguía | TKO | 4 (12), 1:02 | May 12, 2018 | Turning Stone Resort Casino, Verona, New York, U.S. | Lost WBO light middleweight title |
| 27 | Win | 26–1 | Miguel Cotto | UD | 12 | Dec 2, 2017 | Madison Square Garden, New York City, New York, U.S. | Won WBO light middleweight title |
| 26 | Win | 25–1 | Johan Pérez | UD | 10 | Jul 29, 2017 | Casino Del Sol, Tucson, Arizona, U.S. | Won vacant WBA International welterweight title |
| 25 | Win | 24–1 | Jorge Silva | KO | 3 (10), 2:27 | Jan 28, 2017 | Fantasy Springs Resort Casino, Indio, California, U.S. | |
| 24 | Win | 23–1 | Saul Corral | UD | 10 | Sep 17, 2016 | AT&T Stadium, Arlington, Texas, U.S. | |
| 23 | Loss | 22–1 | Jessie Vargas | TKO | 9 (12), 2:09 | Mar 5, 2016 | DC Armory, Washington, D.C., U.S. | For vacant WBO welterweight title |
| 22 | Win | 22–0 | Francisco Santana | UD | 10 | Apr 25, 2015 | Madison Square Garden, New York City, New York, U.S. | Won WBA International welterweight title |
| 21 | Win | 21–0 | Luis Abregú | TKO | 9 (10), 1:54 | Nov 8, 2014 | Boardwalk Hall, Atlantic City, New Jersey, U.S. | Retained WBO Inter-Continental welterweight title |
| 20 | Win | 20–0 | Jeremy Bryan | SD | 10 | Aug 9, 2014 | Barclays Center, New York City, New York, U.S. | Won vacant WBO Inter-Continental welterweight title |
| 19 | Win | 19–0 | Michael Clark | KO | 1 (10), 2:06 | Apr 19, 2014 | DC Armory, Washington, D.C., U.S. | Won interim WBO-NABO welterweight title |
| 18 | Win | 18–0 | Jesus Selig | TKO | 6 (10), 0:22 | Dec 7, 2013 | Barclays Center, New York City, New York, U.S. | |
| 17 | Win | 17–0 | Jay Krupp | UD | 8 | Sep 30, 2013 | Barclays Center, New York City, New York, U.S. | |
| 16 | Win | 16–0 | Ronnie Warrior Jr. | KO | 2 (12), 2:59 | Oct 27, 2012 | Aviator Sports Complex, New York City, New York, U.S. | |
| 15 | Win | 15–0 | Franklin Gonzalez | TKO | 8 (8), 2:22 | Jun 2, 2012 | Aviator Sports Complex, New York City, New York, U.S. | |
| 14 | Win | 14–0 | Boris Berg | RTD | 5 (6), 3:00 | Sep 10, 2011 | Stadion Miejski, Wrocław, Poland | |
| 13 | Win | 13–0 | John Revish | UD | 8 | May 20, 2011 | Prudential Center, Newark, New Jersey, U.S. | |
| 12 | Win | 12–0 | Javier Perez | KO | 3 (8), 2:40 | Apr 9, 2011 | Prudential Center, Newark, New Jersey, U.S. | |
| 11 | Win | 11–0 | Manuel Guzman | UD | 8 | Dec 9, 2010 | Prudential Center, Newark, New Jersey, U.S. | |
| 10 | Win | 10–0 | Gary Bergeron | TKO | 2 (8), 2:18 | Nov 6, 2010 | Prudential Center, Newark, New Jersey, U.S. | |
| 9 | Win | 9–0 | Lenin Arroyo | KO | 5 (8), 2:46 | Aug 21, 2010 | Prudential Center, Newark, New Jersey, U.S. | |
| 8 | Win | 8–0 | Julias Edmonds | TKO | 3 (6), 1:14 | Jul 16, 2010 | Prudential Center, Newark, New Jersey, U.S. | |
| 7 | Win | 7–0 | Martinus Clay | UD | 4 | May 21, 2010 | Capitale, New York City, New York, U.S. | |
| 6 | Win | 6–0 | Jose Duran | KO | 1 (4), 1:32 | Mar 12, 2010 | Foxwoods Resort Casino, Mashantucket, Connecticut, U.S. | |
| 5 | Win | 5–0 | Jason Thompson | UD | 4 | Feb 16, 2010 | Prudential Center, Newark, New Jersey, U.S. | |
| 4 | Win | 4–0 | Osvaldo Rivera | UD | 4 | Oct 31, 2009 | Mohegan Sun Casino, Uncasville, Connecticut, U.S. | |
| 3 | Win | 3–0 | Bryan Abraham | UD | 4 | Apr 25, 2009 | Foxwoods Resort Casino, Mashantucket, Connecticut, U.S. | |
| 2 | Win | 2–0 | Ralph Prescott | TKO | 2 (4), 1:41 | Feb 25, 2009 | B.B. King Blues Club & Grill, New York, New York, U.S. | |
| 1 | Win | 1–0 | Ricky Thompson | TKO | 1 (4), 1:42 | Jan 17, 2009 | Beau Rivage, Biloxi, Mississippi, U.S. | Professional debut |
Miguel Ángel Cotto Vázquez is a Puerto Rican former professional boxer who competed from 2001 to 2017. He is a multiple-time world champion, and the first Puerto Rican boxer to win world titles in four weight classes, from light welterweight to middleweight. In 2007 and 2009, he reached a peak active pound for pound ranking of seventh by The Ring magazine. Cotto started out his career as a hard-hitting pressure fighter, but evolved over the years into a more refined boxer-puncher as he moved up in weight.
Amir Iqbal Khan is a British former professional boxer who competed from 2005 to 2022. He held unified light-welterweight world championships between 2009 and 2012, including the WBA and IBF titles. At regional level, he held the Commonwealth lightweight title from 2007 to 2008. He also held the WBC Silver welterweight title from 2014 to 2016, and once challenged for the WBC and Ring magazine middleweight titles in 2016.
Juan Manuel Márquez Méndez is a Mexican former professional boxer who competed from 1993 to 2014. He is the third Mexican boxer to become a world champion in four weight classes, having held nine world major titles from featherweight to light welterweight, including the lineal championship at lightweight.
Demetrius Cesar Andrade is an American professional boxer. He has held multiple world championships in two weight classes, at light middleweight and middleweight. As an amateur, he won the U.S. national championships and Golden Gloves twice each, a gold medal at the 2007 World Championships, and represented the U.S. at the 2008 Olympics; all in the welterweight division.
Vasiliy Anatolyevich Lomachenko, also spelled Vasyl Anatoliyovych Lomachenko is a Ukrainian professional boxer. He has held multiple world championships in three weight classes from featherweight to lightweight, including unified and lineal titles at lightweight.
Timothy Ray Bradley Jr. is an American former professional boxer who competed from 2004 to 2016. He held multiple world championships in two weight classes, including the WBC light welterweight title twice between 2008 and 2011, the WBO light welterweight title from 2009 to 2012, and the WBO welterweight title twice between 2012 and 2016.
Julius Munyelele Indongo is a Namibian professional boxer. He is a former unified light-welterweight world champion, having held the WBA (Unified), IBF, and IBO titles between 2016 and 2017. As an amateur, Indongo represented Namibia at the 2008 Olympics, reaching the first round of the lightweight bracket.
Román "Rocky" Martínez is a Puerto Rican professional boxer. He is a former WBO junior lightweight champion, having held the title three times between 2009 and 2016.
Adrien Jerome Broner is an American professional boxer. He has held multiple world championships in four weight classes, including the WBO super featherweight title from 2011 to 2012, the WBC lightweight title from 2012 to 2013, the WBA welterweight title in 2013, and the WBA light welterweight title from 2015 to 2016. He is known for his over the top behavior both in and out of the ring.
Miguel Angel Garcia Cortez, best known as Mikey Garcia, is an Mexican American former professional boxer who competed from 2006 to 2021. He held multiple world championships in four weight classes from featherweight to light welterweight, and challenged once for the IBF welterweight title.
Jessie Vargas is an American professional boxer. He is a former world champion in two weight classes, having held the WBA (Regular) and IBO super lightweight titles in 2014, and the WBO welterweight title in 2016. As of August 2021, he is ranked as the world's eleventh best active welterweight by BoxRec.
Miguel Cotto vs. Yuri Foreman, billed as Stadium Slugfest, was a boxing super welterweight fight for the WBA Super Welterweight championship. The bout was held on June 5, 2010, at Yankee Stadium, in New York City, United States. Cotto won the fight via technical knockout in the ninth round.
Keith Fitzgerald Thurman is an American professional boxer. He is a former unified welterweight world champion, having held the WBA title from 2015 to 2019, and the WBC title from 2017 to 2018. As of July 2022, he is ranked as the world's fifth best active welterweight by BoxRec.
Josh Taylor is a Scottish professional boxer. He is a former undisputed super lightweight champion, having held the International Boxing Federation (IBF) and World Boxing Association (WBA) titles between 2019 and 2022, the World Boxing Council (WBC) title between 2021 and 2022, the World Boxing Organisation (WBO) title between 2021 and 2023 and the Ring magazine title between 2019 and 2023. At regional level, he held the Commonwealth light-welterweight title from 2016 to 2017. As an amateur, he won a lightweight silver medal at the 2010 Commonwealth Games and light-welterweight gold at the 2014 edition.
Liam Mark Smith is a British professional boxer. He held the World Boxing Organization (WBO) light-middleweight title from 2015 to 2016. At regional level, he has held multiple light-middleweight championships, including the British and Commonwealth titles between 2012 and 2015. Smith is the younger brother of Paul Smith and Stephen Smith, and the older brother of Callum Smith; all of whom are professional boxers.
Terence Allan Crawford is an American professional boxer. He has held multiple world championships in three weight classes, from lightweight to welterweight, including the undisputed championship at light welterweight and welterweight. As of January 2024, he holds the World Boxing Association (WBA), World Boxing Council (WBC), and World Boxing Organization (WBO) welterweight titles.
Teófimo Andrés López Rivera is an American professional boxer. He has held multiple world championships in two weight classes, including the World Boxing Organization (WBO) and Ring magazine light welterweight titles since June 2023; previously he held the unified World Boxing Association (WBA), International Boxing Federation (IBF), WBO, and Ring lightweight titles between 2019 and 2021. Lopez has also held the lineal championship at lightweight and light welterweight. As an amateur, he represented Honduras at the 2016 Summer Olympics.
Rey Geovani Vargas Roldán is a Mexican professional boxer. He is a world champion in two weight classes, having held the WBC featherweight title since 2022 and the WBC super bantamweight title from 2017 to 2020.
Manny Pacquiao competed in professional boxing from 1995 to 2021. Regarded by boxing historians as one of the greatest professional boxers of all time, Pacquiao is the only boxer in history to win twelve major world titles in eight different weight divisions. He is also the first boxer in history to win the lineal championship in five different weight divisions, as well as being the first boxer in history to win major world titles in four of the original eight weight divisions of boxing, also known as the "glamour divisions": flyweight, featherweight, lightweight and welterweight.
Jaime Aarón Munguía Escobedo is a Mexican professional boxer. He held the WBO junior middleweight title from 2018 to 2019. As of June 2022, Munguía is ranked as the world's fourth best active middleweight by BoxRec, The Ring magazine and ESPN, and fifth by the Transnational Boxing Rankings Board. Munguía's knockout-to-win ratio stands at 79%.