By Vince D’Writer: After suffering a shocking defeat on the Prograis-Zorrilla undercard in New Orleans, Ramla Ali stepped inside the squared circle five months later seeking revenge, and she got her vindication as she defeated Julissa Alejandra Guzman (13-3-2, 7 KOs) by way of unanimous decision.
The 34-year-old Ramla Ali has a compelling life story, but on the night of June 17th, it wasn’t a storybook ending for Ali as she was knocked out in the eighth round. Instead of taking some time off or having a tune-up fight, Ali was determined to step back inside the ring with the woman who defeated her.
After scoring a massive upset victory, Julissa Guzman was more than willing to face Ramla Ali for a second time. After previously sharing the ring with Ali, Guzman felt confident in regards to winning a rematch because she was sure that Ali couldn’t hurt her or stop her from pressing forward.
Throughout the build-up for the rematch, Guzman’s confidence was on display as she taunted Ali on multiple occasions. During a face-off after a press conference, Guzman kissed both of her fists and placed them in Ali’s face while smiling. After the weigh-in, Guzman smiled while placing her right fist in Ali’s face.
The Julissa Guzman vs Ramla Ali rematch was the opening bout on the Joe Cordina-Edward Vazquez undercard. As both boxers stood in the ring, it became apparent that Ramla Ali was taking a massive career risk of possibly losing two fights in a row.
As the bell rang to officially start the bout, Guzman came out in attack mode as she threw the overhand right on multiple occasions. In the second half of the first round, Guzman landed some solid shots to Ali’s body.
In the second round, Guzman continued to press forward and fight off the front foot. With 26 seconds remaining in the second round, Ali landed a sharp right hand. Ali was working off the jab when she landed another clean right hand in the third round.
In the fourth round, Guzman landed a hard left on the top of Ali’s head, and she followed it up by landing a solid right hand shot. For the next couple of rounds, Ramla Ali used her footwork, the jab, and the one-two combination.
Despite getting hit by her opponent’s jab and right hand, Guzman continued to press forward trying to land her shots. When Guzman set her feet and threw hard shots, Ali did a good job of slipping most of the punches. As the fight continued, it became obvious that Ali’s game plan was to make her miss then make her pay.
In the 7th round, Ramla Ali worked the jab, and then she proceeded to close out the round by landing three sharp right hand shots in a row. Guzman started the 8th round by landing a solid right hand. Guzman tried to land something big, but Ali was consistently able to slip and roll under her opponent’s punches.
For ten rounds, Ramla Ali threw the jab, fought well off the back foot, used her footwork, and stayed disciplined. The fight would go to the judge’s scorecards, and all three judges scored the contest 96-94 in favor of Ramla Ali.
With the victory, Ramla Ali (9-1, 2 KOs) got her revenge, and she also won the vacant WBA International super-bantamweight title.