Sadam Ali is entering his WBO welterweight title fight against Jesse Vargas with an undefeated record, yet he’s getting the lesser end of the promotion. He knows that a win on Saturday will change that.
Ali, 27, has been looking forward to this title fight since he began his boxing career but he’s known that taking the correct path to the title is important. For example, he knows that his opponent Jesse Vargas was standing in his shoes just a year ago when he fought then WBO champion Timothy Bradley for the belt.
At that time Vargas was the undefeated young fighter hoping to take the belt from the establish veteran and chase bigger fights. Vargas came up short in that fight and Timothy Bradley has since vacated the belt, which leads them to tomorrow’s fight. Vargas gets his second shot at becoming world champion and Ali aims to leave him disappointed again.
“For most fighters one loss can actually help that fighter and make them come harder. That’s why I don’t underestimate Jesse Vargas and I know he’s going to come harder than ever but would I want to go through that one loss to come harder? No. I rather come hard now so I don’t get that loss at all,” said Ali.
Ali plans to win the title this Saturday but his goals go beyond just one title victory. Ali hopes to use the WBO title to open doors for larger fights and establish himself as one of the best welterweights in the world.
It’s no secret that the 147lb division has some of the brightest young fighters in boxing and he’s open to fight the other talented welterweight fighters to build his name.
One hurdle he must overcome is the Showtime and HBO, more specifically Golden Boy/Top Rank and PBC, divide that has kept some of the largest match-ups from happening. Ali didn’t shy away from discussing the possibility of fighting the Keith Thurman’s, Adrien Broner’s and Errol Spence Jr’s of the boxing world.
“It would’ve been nice if we were all together,” said Ali. “If it makes sense to me I’m willing to fight any fighter. It’ll open up someday. There’s so many great fighters out there and everyone loves to call people out but it’s not something that I do. I’m willing to fight them all.”
There’s one fight that he doesn’t have to go far to challenge and that is rising star Terrence ‘Bud’ Crawford.
Crawford was wiling to move up to 147lbs to challenge Manny Pacquiao and he’ll eventually make the jump in weight. When he does move up it won’t take long for him to receive a title shot and a target will be placed on the back of the standing WBO champion. That’s a situation Ali doesn’t shy away from.
“I like Terrence Crawford a lot, he’s a great fighter. Who knows how it’ll play out. I just take it day by day and let it play out.”
He’s smart enough to know that these hypothetical situations will all be gone with a loss to Vargas. His sole focus is on winning the belt and representing it the correct way.
“[being champion] Means the world to me, it’s really important. I worked my way up through the ranks and I’m the next one in line,” said Ali.
If victorious, he’ll have the chance to fight the best HBO & Top Rank have to offer. It also places his name amongst some of the best in the sport, which isn’t an easy torch to carry, but with that comes the opportunity to take the metaphorical crown in the welterweight division.
It’s a journey that fellow Golden Boy Promotions superstar Canelo Alvarez has traveled and conquered. Sadam will have to keep that in mind while trying to put on strangle hold on one of boxing’s toughest weight classes.
Sadam is well aware of the pressure that comes with climbing the ranks in boxing’s most competitive division and he fully expects to stand at the top at some point.
“I really do [believe it’ll happen], I hope so. That’s just 100% but I definitely believe that and I’m going to work my way up there. Hopefully it works out the way it’s planned.”
The journey to the top of the welterweight division begins this Saturday, March 4th. Sadam Ali will put his undefeated record on the line when he challenges Jessie Vargas for the vacant WBO welterweight title. It’ll be Sadam’s first shot at a major world title and he plans to make good on the opportunity.