Sadam Ali is excited for what is next – even though he’s yet to find out what that might be.
Ali returned last month from a six-year layoff with a 10-round unanimous decision over Cody Wilson, which took place at the Wayne State Fieldhouse in Detroit.
Ali, 28-3 (14 KOs), is happy to be back, but has no long-term plans. Ali, now 36, made his first ring walk since May 4, 2019, at the end of August. Competing at junior middleweight, the same division where he held a WBO title, Ali of Brooklyn, New York, explained his motivation for returning.
“Boxing is just in me. I just love boxing,” Ali told BoxingScene. “I never worked a job in my life; it has always been boxing. I have been boxing since I was eight years old, and I didn’t stop until I was like 30.”
“After some time, you just want to get back,” Ali said. “Your life doesn’t feel the same without it.”
Against Wilson, 14-6 (9 KOs), a 31-year-old journeyman boxer from West Virginia, Ali admits that despite winning the fight wide on all three judges’ scorecards, he felt the effects of not being an active fighter.
“I felt some ring rust,” Ali said. “I was expecting that.”
Ali wants to return in the fall or early next year. He hopes to stay active, so he isn’t in a perpetual cycle of knocking the ring rust off. The complicated part of Ali’s story is that he isn’t motivated by traditional goals. He was a 2008 U.S. Olympian, and he became a titleholder when he defeated Miguel Cotto. He likes to perform for the people who want to see him fight. While most come back for money or the dream of a title, he has already accomplished that. Ali is coming back for himself and those who grew up watching him compete, and himself.
“Right now, I am just getting back in the ring and showing what I still got,” Ali said. “I wanted to compete again. I was getting the itch, and there were a few times I tried to get back in the ring, and something would fall out, or an injury would happen. So, it should have happened a lot sooner.”
The only deep ambition Ali has is to again show why he accomplished what he did.
“I want to show why I was in that position,,” Ali said.
