Don’t call it a comeback for Sadam Ali, as he never left. Well, the former WBO junior middleweight champ did take an extended break after a 2019 loss to Anthony Young, but he never said the “R” word.
“I never officially said I was retiring,” Ali laughs. “I just took a long break. So, it was like a retirement. But I got the itch back for boxing and I'm ready to come back.”
At 36, Ali will step back into the ring on February 23 to face Victoriano Antonio Santillan. In his hometown of Brooklyn. On a card he’s promoting. That’s a lot to deal with after nearly six years away. But the time was right.
“I got to do it before it's too late,” he said. “While I'm still young and I'm not in my forties yet.”
Good call. Whether he’s still young enough to compete with the best at 154 pounds remains to be seen, but when he did walk away after the Young fight, which came less than two years after he shocked Miguel Cotto at Madison Square Garden in 2017, he had enough, and sticking around was just going to lead to more bad news between the ropes.
“I've been doing this my whole life,” said Ali. “I've had close to 300 amateur fights. I've been a 2008 Olympian, I've been at the highest stages, I became a world champion. I've just experienced and achieved so much as a boxer that I didn't really have the hunger for it anymore, and I guess I needed a little break from it.”
I can confirm the “whole life” thing, as I remind him that my first interview with him was in a Coney Island gym during a media day for the Hector Camacho Jr.-Jesse James Leija fight in the summer of 2001.
“That's a real throwback right there,” he laughs. “I still remember seeing pictures from that day.”
It was a good time to be a boxing fan in New York City, and a better time to be a boxer, as there were club shows throughout the area, plenty of hype about the up and comers like Paulie Malignaggi, Dmitry Salita, Gary Stark Jr., Luis Collazo, and the Chin Checkers (Curtis Stevens and Jaidon Codrington), and a lot of media attention for that next generation. It’s not like that anymore in the Big Apple, but maybe Ali’s promotion, which kicks off 2025 at Kings Theatre, can do something about that.
“In the future, when I fully retire, I do plan on allowing opportunities for other fighters that are coming up, other fighters that want to make a name for themselves and keep building World Kid Promotions,” said Ali. “It's something that even if I’m not going to be on the card in the future, I definitely want to bring some more boxing back to New York. And I also want to explore it elsewhere. Who knows where I could go next with my promotions. I might be hosting it in another country. You don't know what may come, but, right now, I'm just focused on me making my comeback in New York. I'm excited about that and whatever may come with it, I'll be prepared for it.”
So yeah, about that comeback. Ali, who got married and had a son in his absence from the ring, doesn’t have a grand statement to make to the division and the world when it comes to his return. He hit his mark in the pros, winning 27 of 30 pro fights, none bigger than the Cotto victory that earned him the WBO junior middleweight title. He lost that belt to Jaime Mungia in his first defense, but he did what most haven’t. Beat a legend, won a title, and did it in his hometown. If he never returned, he would be remembered by his fans.
But here he is. Why? He just missed it.
“I just want to do it again,” he said. “I like to perform. I like to win and show love and have everybody giving me respect and enjoying the way that I fight, the way that I perform. It's just a good feeling, and I really miss that feeling of fighting and winning and looking good. And especially now that I'm coming back and I'm doing it in my hometown in Brooklyn, it doesn't get better than that. So I'm excited about that.”
It's as honest an answer as you’ll get in this business. Yeah, money’s nice and titles are nice, but when it comes down to it, a boxer’s return to the ring usually comes after they realize that nothing can replace that feeling of a fight – before, during and after. It’s not easy getting there, as the older Ali is finding out, but, as they say, the juice is worth the squeeze.
“Man, boxing is really tough,” he laughs, another long day in the gym in the books. “For me, the real fight is preparing for a fight: cutting weight in the gym, doing the sparring, the hard rounds on the bag, the pads, everything that comes with being a professional boxer. That's the tough part for me. The easy part is fighting. Of course, you're going to have a challenge here and there, but that's the easy part. The hard work is what you do before you get to the fight.”
In a couple weeks, Ali will get the payoff for that hard work. As for what happens after February 23, he doesn’t know.
“I would say there is no real goal as of right now,” he said. “I just want to get back in there, get the ring rust off and whatever comes with it, we will see. If a world title is in my view, then I'm going for it. I've never run from anything in my life, so I'm ready for whatever comes, and whatever God has in store for me, I'm ready for it. I'm going to take it, fight by fight, see how I feel, and I feel like it's going to go great. So we'll see.”
I tell him that when Felix Trinidad returned to face Ricardo Mayorga after two years away, I asked him what he missed the most. “Tito” slapped his face and said, “the punches,” smiling all way.
“I'll tell you one thing, I definitely don't miss the punches,” Ali laughs. “But I'm going to tell you what I miss the most. What I miss the most is being successful, winning, and taking pictures with supporters and fans after the fight. Just seeing kids that want to take pictures with me after the fight, it's a beautiful feeling. It's a beautiful feeling being a role model. I just want to stay successful and that's my main drive.”