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SADAM ALI: "MY TIME IS GONNA COME VERY SOON...I'M JUST READY TO SHINE"

By Percy Crawford | April 17, 2014
SADAM ALI:

"I feel that I understand pro boxing a little bit more…It's basically all about picking your punches and being smart in there and gaining experience. I think I got that experience. I never took a big jump, I have moved my career slowly, and my time is gonna come very soon… I'm just ready to shine," stated welterweight contender Sadam Ali, who talked about his upcoming return to the ring this Saturday on the undercard of Hopkins vs. Shumenov. Check out what else he had to say!

PC: You will be fighting Saturday night in DC on the Hopkins/Shumenov card. How was your preparation for this fight?

SA: Good, good. I'm just staying in the gym and working on some new things. My opponent just fell out, so they are working on a new one.

PC: I thought we would have already seen you fight this year. Was the delay by design or would you had liked to have fought already?

SA: I would like to be a little more busier, but there is no rush. I still feel young and I still feel like I have time.

PC: Is the late drop out of your opponent a big deal to you or do you just take it as it comes?

SA: It's not a big deal to me because I know how to adapt to different fighters and styles. I'll figure it out during the course of the fight, but I'm just ready to fight.

PC: Since you have had a little bit of a break from the ring, what have you been working on in the gym?

SA: I have been trying to work on my jab a little more. When you are in that ring, anything can happen, so you gotta be a little more cautious and it starts with the jab. I have a really good jab; I just don't use it all the time. So that's what I have been working on, and really just throwing combinations and keeping my head moving.

PC: It's gotta be a good feeling to be associated with such a big event like a Bernard Hopkins card.

SA: Yeah, it feels great. I have been through it before and it was always a good feeling and a pleasure. I'm excited. The whole card is gonna be amazing, so I'm ready for that.

PC: What aspect of your game do you feel like you made the biggest leap in from one year to the next?

SA: I feel that I understand pro boxing a little bit more. You gotta pick your punches a little bit better. It's not like in the amateurs; you can't just throw a whole bunch of punches because you could leave yourself wide open. It's basically all about picking your punches and being smart in there and gaining experience. I think I got that experience. I never took a big jump, I have moved my career slowly, and my time is gonna come very soon.

PC: You have already dealt with some adversity in your career and had to fight back from it. Looking back at it, was that beneficial to you because you haven't had an easy road?

SA: Definitely. I mean, I don't think I was in there with top people, but I wasn't in there with no pizza man or any mailmen or anything like that. I had to look at it and it's always good to do that because it happens to a lot of fighters where they have those opponents that's too easy and then they get in with somebody that's pretty good and they are shocked, they get hurt, and they lose. And they regret it, but for me, being put in with opponents that are rugged and actually have some skills prepares me for the better fighters that I will fight.

PC: Are you comfortable at welterweight or can we expect you to move up or down here soon?

SA: Right now, 47 is my division. I don't see myself moving down at all. If I really had to, I can. If it makes a lot of sense, I will, but I think I will be at 147 for awhile, unless I just randomly grow some crazy muscles and I have to go up (laughing). Other than that, I will be at 47 for awhile.

PC: It's a good division to be stuck in.

SA: Definitely. There are a lot of fighters at that weight. That's where it's at right now.

PC: Being that you were such a decorated amateur, was it a difficult transition for you once you became a pro?

SA: Honestly, it wasn't that hard for me. God blessed me with a way of fighting and knowing how to adapt and fight differently when I have to. It just naturally came for me. It's just like the situation I'm in now, honestly. They could find me an opponent two days before the fight and I will be good. I just like to take a little look, but I could tell the way a fighter is bouncing before the fight pretty much how he's gonna try to fight me or his style. I have an idea of the way he fights. I have been doing this for so long, man. I'm 25 and I been boxing since I was 8, so I pick up on things like that.

PC: I wish you the best of luck. I look forward to speaking to you after your fight. Is there anything else you want to add?

SA: Thank you. I appreciate it. If it wasn't for you guys, we wouldn't be able to have our names out there so I appreciate that. I just want to thank everybody that has their eyes open and are watching me and everyone who has positive words for me. I'm just ready to shine.



[ Follow Percy Crawford on Twitter @MrLouis1ana ]

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