It might seem incongruous to some for a boxer in her early
thirties to consider herself a work in progress. Ramla Ali, however, isn’t terribly
concerned by other people’s perceptions of her, with the obvious exceptions of
her family, friends, husband, and coach. It wasn’t always like that. But with
tireless persistence and a work ethic equal to her desire to smash down
barriers and initiate change, Ali moved past her insecurities to chase her
dreams.
Free from the temptation of sneaking peeks into the
rearview mirror, Ramla focuses on the here and now with careful consideration
also given to the next bend in the road along what has already been a remarkable
and fruitful journey. Navigating life’s blind curves is what keeps our minds alive,
our reflexes sharp, and our hearts open to all possibilities.
Complacency is a fatal flaw which should be avoided at
all costs as it prevents everyone, the prizefighter and average Joe or Jane
alike, from fulfilling our potential. None of us should think of ourselves as
finished products until the day our time runs out. To accept perfection as a
reality is to betray the sense of how far we have come and capitulate to how much further
we desire to push ourselves.
Ramla Ali’s quest toward greatness has taken her from war
torn Somalia and overcrowded refugee camps to appearing on the covers of the
most posh fashion magazines, advocating for civil rights, and representing her
homeland in the Olympics. A lot has happened even since then.
In the past year alone, Ramla embarked on a three-fight
tour of the United States, published a memoir, inked a promotional deal with Eddie
Hearn’s Matchroom Boxing, was brought under the representation of the
managerial team headed up by Anthony Joshua, and began training with the renowned
Manny Robles. All things considered, the foundational building blocks are being
put into their proper place in due time to allow Ali the continuation of her
forward progress and upward mobility.
Step by step, Ramla climbs the rankings with the goal of world
title contention inching ever closer to her reach. 6-1 Agustina Rojas, an aggressive
23-year-old Argentine with a walk-forward fighting style, presented Ramla with
her latest and most substantial challenge this past Saturday at London’s O2
Arena on the undercard of the Derek Chisora/Kubrat Pulev rematch.
Ramla personally sold 1,000 tickets for her first
eight-rounder, with her Somali brethren accounting for 800 of them. This was
something for which she was particularly proud, especially since among them
would be her entire family. With the exception of her youngest brother Yahya, none
of them had ever seen Ramla box live and in person. Indeed, for many years she
had to keep her pugilistic exploits secret from her mother, whose devout
adherence to Islamic law forbade such activity.
Establishing a comfortable rhythm by throwing
combinations behind a double or triple left jab proved very difficult for Ali in
the early going. Rojas would consistently close the distance with a quick and
effective jab of her own, successfully timing straight rights or looping hooks
over Ramla’s receding left hand on multiple occasions. Ramla got in the last
word of round one by landing a straight right just as the bell sounded.
The shorter, stockier Argentinian gave Ali problems
aplenty through the first few stanzas by bullying her way past the protective
perimeter and clipping Ramla with left leads and right hooks on the way in.
Ramla attempted to halt her advances with body shots and counter rights, but
was menaced nevertheless by the scrappy and tireless Rojas.
Spurred on by chants of “Ali! Ali! Ali!” emanating from
her many Somali supporters, Ramla made adjustments in the middle rounds
recommended by Manny Robles, such as mixing in uppercuts during the exchanges
contested at close quarters, that permitted her the opportunity to control the
pace and style of the fight more to her liking. Perhaps a little too much so,
as Robles sternly advised her to quit admiring her work and stay busy throwing
punches.
Dutifully she obliged, increasing her offensive output
and finding her target at a more successful rate. Ali also employed better use
of her footwork and head movement to evade the vast majority of Rojas’
incoming shots, which were being thrown with less frequency and determination as
time ticked down.
A tiring Rojas was now being forced to fight off the
backfoot and went down to the canvas toward the end of the sixth, though not as
the result of a punch. Ramla maintained command of the bout until the final
bell, pitching a clean shutout over Rojas by the 80-72 tally arrived at by the
lone scorekeeper, referee Chas Coakley.
Potent and prudent in their shared approach as teacher
and student, the team of Manny Robles and Ramla Ali appear to make a winning
combination. Given Manny’s strict attention to detail and Ramla’s studious
dedication to improving her technical skills, it is simply a matter of when,
not if, they reach the summit together and see Ali claim yet another distinctive accomplishment by becoming boxing's first
Somali world champion.
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