De La Hoya: Ali Proved Everyone Wrong, Passed Test

by David P. Greisman

Some thought welterweight prospect Sadam Ali would be undone against Luis Carlos Abregu, who had stopped then-unbeaten Thomas Dulorme and whose only loss had come against Timothy Bradley.

But it was Ali stopping Abregu this past Saturday, a win that impressed promoter Oscar De La Hoya of Golden Boy Promotions, who believes this victory will vault Ali to even greater things.

“What a terrific performance. What a clinic. What a demonstration of heart and his boxing ability and wow, punching power, unbelievable,” De La Hoya said at the post-fight press conference. “Here you have a guy [Abregu] that was in front of him that was a puncher. He goes the distance with Timothy Bradley, and then he gives him a run for his money, and then here you go with a kid here [Ali] that’s only 20-0 and is taking a huge step up.

“That’s what people think, and that’s on paper, that it’s a huge step against Abregu, and it actually was. But he [Ali] believes in himself, his team believes in him, we believe in him, and he passed that test with flying colors. This fight here will take him to new heights, emotionally, physically, mentally. He’ll be a whole new fighter.”

De La Hoya said he’d like to bring Ali, who is from the New York City borough of Brooklyn, back to the arena there, Barclays Center, where he’s fought three times before.

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