AFTER beating Miguel Cotto, Sadam Ali was on course to becoming one of boxing’s new stars. But he lost his first defence of the WBO super-welterweight world title to exciting, power-punching Mexican Jaime Munguia. But expect Ali to be back.
Golden Boy’s Eric Gomez told Boxing News: “It was shocking. But I’m proud of Sadam. More than anything I’m proud. Because he really wants to prove that he’s one of the best, that he belongs. He didn’t hesitate, he went after whoever was available [after Liam Smith pulled out of the fight at short notice]. Munguia was the next guy in line, he was available and he wanted to save the show. Whenever you have a fight on HBO Championship Boxing and you’re the headliner and you lose an opponent two weeks out, these dates are very hard to get. Very difficult to get. He wanted to do whatever it takes to save the show. In hindsight you could say there were mistakes made. But you know what, we give all the credit to Munguia. He came and took the title. You can’t blame a kid for wanting to be great and that’s Sadam so I’m proud.”
“He’s a young kid, he’s still a very, very good fighter. It’s a loss on his record but he’s still mentally very strong. He’ll be back. I have no doubt about that,” Gomez continued.
Munguia is also a man with exciting potential. Golden Boy could work with him in future. “There’s a possibility. As of right now we have options on him. He’s got a promoter. We’re working closely with the promoter. We’re going to be involved with the mandatory fight with Liam Smith,” Eric said.
“So we’ll be involved in that fight. We’ll see if there’s any future. But as of right now he’s an exciting fighter, we’ll see what happens.”
