Ali, who fled Somalia’s civil war and settled in London, won the controversial split-decision fight against American Kreps to claim IBO and WBF junior featherweight belts.
Ramla Ali, a British Somali boxer whose life story is the subject of a new film, has realised a long-held dream and won her first world title to claim two vacant junior featherweight belts in the United States.
The ۳۶-year-old landed the biggest titles of her career by winning the IBO and WBF belts in a controversial split-decision victory over American fighter Mikiah Kreps in Arlington, Texas, on Sunday.
The nail-biting nature of the ۱۰-round contest should not have come as too much of a surprise, as the duo are former sparring partners and ended the night with an expression of mutual respect.
“Mikiah, I want to share this victory with you because you pushed me for ۱۰ rounds,” an emotional Ali said while addressing her opponent, who she stopped from exiting the ring after being declared the winner.
“I kept saying I’m so tired because your work rate was next level. I don’t know how I kept up, so thank you for being such a great boxer.”
The ۳۰-year-old Niagara Falls native reciprocated the emotion. “I respect you,” Kreps said as both fighters wrapped an arm around each other.
During the fight, Ali had Kreps on the canvas in round three, but she was behind her younger opponent in the overall punch count at the end of the fight.
The outcome of the fight caused controversy from the moment the referee lifted Ali’s arm when the decision was announced.
According to the official punch statistics from the fight, Kreps outlanded Ali by ۱۱۵ blows to ۷۸ and the American was also way ahead in the power shot count.
One judge scored the bout ۹۸-۹۱ for Kreps but the other judges saw the fight differently and gave Ali the win with scores of ۹۷-۹۲ and ۹۶-۹۳.
Veteran promoter Lou Di Bella wrote on social media, “Mikiah Kreps won that fight and it wasn’t even close. Stevie Wonder could see that.”
From Somalia’s civil war to world champion
The external noise would have mattered little to Ali, who dropped to her knees when the scores were announced.
Ali and her family are no strangers to adversity, having settled in London in ۱۹۹۲ after fleeing Somalia during its civil war.
Years after picking up the sport as a teenager in East London, Ali became the first Somali boxer to compete at the Olympic Games when she represented the country of her birth at Tokyo ۲۰۲۰. She later became the first Muslim woman to win an English amateur boxing title.
Ali’s journey has provided the inspiration for the movie ‘In the Shadows’ starring Top Boy actor Jasmine Jobson.
The fighter lost her father earlier this year and said she stayed up all night prior to the fight, wishing he would have been around to see her in the ring.
“My father passed away in May, so I was really emotional,” she said in a post-fight interview with All The Smoke Boxing.
“Every round, I kept going to my corner to tell my coach I couldn’t do it any more because I was physically exhausted. I boxed through my skin and I’m glad I got the victory.”
Ali’s career has always been multi-dimensional. As a model and UNICEF ambassador, she has projected her voice beyond sporting arenas.
“I can’t put into words what this means to me and what this means to all of Somalia,” she said, fighting back tears, while standing inside the ring.
“I’ve hopefully inspired so many young girls and boys out there to dream big and that’s all I’ve ever wanted to do.”
