by David P. Greisman
Welterweight prospect Sadam Ali knows that he didn’t perform too well for his split decision win over Jeremy Bryan this past Saturday at Barclays Center in Brooklyn, New York.
Ali, a 25-year-old from Brooklyn, rated himself at 6.5. He said part of the difficulty was because of Bryan and part of it was being affected by fasting for the month-long Muslim holiday of Ramadan, which went from late June until late July.
“I didn’t feel so good this training camp fasting for Ramadan. I’m making excuses right now, but I’m just being completely honest,” Ali told reporters afterward. Soon he added: “I thought I would be fine. I just didn’t feel myself”
Ali was hurt in the fourth round — “My legs weren’t there completely,” he said — but he was able to come back and drop Bryan in the ninth.
“I think that Jeremy Bryan was one of my toughest opponents. I wasn’t at my best, but I take nothing away from Jeremy Bryan. … I knew it wouldn’t be easy. I never underestimated him.
Ali is now 20-0 with 12 KOs. Bryan, 28, of Paterson, New Jersey, is now 17-4 with 7 KOs.
“I was hurt, but I recovered well,” Ali said. “I came back and I hurt him. You learn from your fights that you didn’t do well, so I’ll just prepare for the next one.”
Pick up a copy of David’s book, “Fighting Words: The Heart and Heartbreak of Boxing,” at http://bit.ly/fightingwordsamazon or internationally at http://bit.ly/fightingwordsworldwide. Send questions/comments via email at fightingwords1@gmail.com
