By Steve Kim
By upsetting Miguel Cotto in his farewell fight this past weekend at the Madison Square Garden in New York this past weekend, United States Olympian Sadam Ali (26-1, 14 KO's) captured the WBO junior middleweight title.
Cotto was a big favorite, but the younger Ali proved to be too much for the former four division world champion.
Prior to the contest, there was a lot of focus on Ali's sole career defeat - a 2016 knockout at the hands of Jessie Vargas, who is not regarded as a big puncher. Additionally, Ali was move up in weight to take the high profile opportunity.
Last month, Liam Smith - who previously held the WBO title and then lost the belt to Canelo Alvarez in 2016 - won a final eliminator to make himself the mandatory challenger with a twelve round decision over countryman Liam Williams.
Smith, and his promoter Frank Warren, will be pushing to get their title crack.
So will the career welterweight stay at 154 and defend that crown or drop back to the welterweight ranks?
Andre Rozier, the trainer for Ali, told BoxingScene.com on Monday morning - "We took this assignment, he looked really good at it but it's not like he's a true 154-pounder but he made the adjustment very well. His best weight is definitely '47."
But being a major belt-holder does come with some perks and that will certainly factor in this decision.
"The economics of the business will dictate basically where we go with it,'' explained Rozier. "So we don't know for sure but if something good comes out of it and something exciting can be created, then we'll do that because he likes to excite crowds.
"But we don't know, just yet. We're just basking in the glow of the moment, enjoying it and having a great time with it."
Steve Kim is the news editor for BoxingScene.com.
