Ramla Ali committed the cardinal sin of any hot prospect with an undefeated record two years ago.

She lost.

What followed her eighth-round knockout loss to Julissa Alejandra Guzman in June 2023 was a lot of chirping from the cheap seats of social media, saying “I told you so” about a former Olympian who was the greatest thing since pizza in the lead-up to the bout.

Now she wasn’t the next big thing. Most in her situation would have chalked it up to a bad night, moved on with some easy wins, and put that loss in the rearview mirror forever. Instead, the Mogadishu native requested – and received – an immediate rematch with Guzman, much to the horror of many in the boxing business.

"There were loads of managers and people like that messaging (husband/manager) Richard (Moore),” Ali told The Ring. "I decided to switch social media off; it just became this horrible toxic place. But they were messaging Richard, saying, ‘Tell Ramla not to do it. Just take an easy fight.’

"And the thing is, I’m not built like that. If you know the life that I’ve had and what it has taken for me to get to the point I am today, you’ll know that I don’t do easy. I like hard and I like the challenges that hard brings. That’s why initially I was like, ‘We’ve got to run this again.’ I’m not being a sour loser, but I do believe that I am the better boxer."

Less than five months later, Ali proved it, winning a 10-round unanimous decision over Guzman.

“In the press conference, she (Guzman) said, ‘All Ramla’s going to do is run,’ ” Ali said. “And you know what I did? I stood in the middle of the ring with her and I boxed her in the middle of the ring without running and being on the back foot, just to prove that I am the better boxer, and that shut her up. So, I’m glad I did it and I’m glad I proved a lot of people wrong.”

The win put Ali (9-2, 2 KOs) in line for a shot at Yamileth Mercado’s WBC junior featherweight belt in June 2024. She dropped a unanimous decision of her own to the Mexican titleholder, but the 35-year-old proved that she belongs where everyone said she did before the loss to Guzman, and she will return to the ring Friday night, undeterred, to face Brazil’s Lila Furtado (11-2, 2 KOs) on the Katie Taylor-Amanda Serrano 3 card in a familiar building in New York City.

“Honestly, I love fighting in New York,” said Ali, who is 2-0 in Madison Square Garden’s Theater. “Fighting in New York is very neutral. You get unbiased judging, an unbiased ref, unbiased crowds. They’re just happy that they’re watching boxing. And everyone is cheering for you. I love that.”

Well, if history is any indication, they cheer a little more for Ali, chanting her last name during her wins over Isela Vera (2021) and Avril Mathie (2023).

Ali laughs, claiming that her sister has a lot to do with that response. And she will be in the big room at the Garden this week to lead the cheers in her sister’s first appearance with Most Valuable Promotions.

The “new” kid on the block has made a big investment in women’s boxing, and with more and more top-level boxers joining the roster, signing with them was a no brainer for Ali, who, nonetheless, isn’t talking about a timetable to get back to a world title fight.

“Honestly, I don’t have one,” she said. “I tried for a world title last year. It didn’t work out and now I’m not going to jinx anything. Obviously, that’s still the end goal, but if it happens, it happens. Honestly, that fight last year [with Mercado], I do believe I won it. I was just very unfortunate that I was fighting a Mexican in a heavy Mexican state. It was in Arizona, and you can’t compete with 10,000 Mexican fans.

“And as loud as my sister was trying to be, it wasn’t meant to be. So obviously, what is the end goal for all boxers? They want all the acclaim, all the titles, and I would be an idiot if I said I didn’t want that. But for me now, I’ve taken a year out, and I’m so excited to get back in the ring and just take it step by step.”

It’s an enviable position for any boxer to be in, but few are. Let’s face it, most folks who do this for a living do this because they have to. Ali doesn’t. That may make her more dangerous because she wants to.

“I always find a lot of people struggle to retire because boxing is their whole life,” Ali said. “So, the moment you retire, you have no routine, you have nothing that you can wake up and look forward to doing every day. I have loads of different avenues. I have (the non-profit) The Sisters Club, me and my husband, Richard, have a production company. We are going to be shooting our first short film this summer. We’ve written a feature film, as well, together. I also do modeling, I do public speaking, I’m brand ambassador for loads of different brands. So, if boxing ended for me tomorrow, it’s not the end of the world.”

Boxing is not ending for Ramla Ali tomorrow. In fact, it might be just beginning. And for all she has going on outside the ring, when the gloves are on and she steps between the ropes, this is something that’s for her and no one else.

“My whole life I’ve had to hide my love of boxing from my family and those closest to me,” she said. “I’d be going to competitions, and I’d never have any friends or family come to watch me compete because I had to keep it a secret. And every time that I’d fall out with my family or my mom or my dad, it’s got to mean something. I need to finish boxing. All those years that I argued with my mom, and I made her cry because she asked me to stop and I didn’t stop.

“It has to mean something, and I think that’s why I continue to do it. I love it so much. When I used to get bullied as a teenager, it’s the only thing that gave me solace. It’s the only place that I could run to when I was feeling upset and down and it’s the only thing that made me happy. So, I always say I’m going to continue boxing until the day that it doesn’t make me happy anymore.”