By Dan Ambrose: WBO junior middleweight champion Miguel Cotto (41-5, 33 KOs) is being talked about fighting welterweight Sadam Ali (25-1, 14 KOs) for December 2 on HBO Boxing at Madison Square Garden in New York. Ali, 29, is a 2008 U.S Olympian, and he is promoted by Golden Boy, the same company that promotes Cotto.
By Dan Ambrose: Last night, #4 WBO Jessie Vargas (27-1, 10 KOs) became a two-division world champion by beating the smaller, and weaker Sadam Ali (22-1, 13 KOs) by a 9th round knockout to claim the vacant WBO welterweight title at the DC Armory in Washington, DC.
After the fight, Vargas said he wants a rematch with Tim Bradley, who soundly beat him by a 12 round unanimous decision last June. The ending of their fight was controversial somewhat due to Vargas hurting Bradley in the 12th, and the referee blowing it by stopping the fight 10 seconds early thinking the fight had ended. Bradley would have clearly made it to the end regardless if the fight had gone on.
By Jim Dower: Former WBA 140lb champion Jessie Vargas (27-1, 10 KOs) used his superior size and punching power to defeat #1 WBO Sadam Ali (22-1, 13 KOs) by a 9th round TKO night to capture the vacant WBO 140lb title in a fight televised by HBO World Boxing from the DC Armory in Washington, DC.
Vargas flattened a fading 27-year-old Ali in the 8th round. Ali made it up but was badly hurt. He was able to make it out of the round, but it was clear that he was not going to be able to last another round. Ali’s trainer asked him in between rounds if he wanted to have the fight stopped, but he chose to come out for the 9th.
In hindsight, that wasn’t a good idea because Vargas immediately all over him at the start of the 9th round. Vargas then finished Ali off with a flurry of shots after knocking him down one more time. Referee Kenny Chevalier stopped the contest at 2:09 of the round.
By Allan Fox: Former WBA 140lb champion Jessie Vargas (26-1, 9 KOs) will be putting his new punching power on display tonight in his fight for the vacant WBO welterweight title against Sadam Ali (22-0, 13 KOs) at the DC Armory in Washington, DC. Vargas says he’s been working on his punching power lately, and he feels that Ali is not going to want to mix it up with him for long after he finds out how hard he can hit early in their contest tonight on HBO Boxing.
Vargas’ problem in his last fight against Tim Bradley wasn’t just a lack of punching power. Vargas also failed to throw enough punches to win. He was letting Bradley outwork him in every round of the fight.
(Photo: Tom Hogan – Hoganphotos/Golden Boy) By Dan Ambrose: Not known for his punching power, #4 WBO Jessie Vargas (26-1, 9 KOs) is surprisingly looking for a knockout in his fight tonight against #1 WBO Sadam Ali (22-0, 13 KOs) on HBO World Boxing from the DC Armory in Washington, DC.
Vargas and Ali will be battling it out for Tim Bradley’s recently vacated WBO welterweight title. With how limited looking both of these contenders are, it’s a wonderment that they’ll be fighting for the WBO 147lb title, because there are a number of contenders that would likely beat both of these guys with no problems.
By Jim Dower: Interim WBA heavyweight champion Luis “The Real King Kong” Ortiz (24-0, 21 KOs) weighed in today for his fight on Saturday night against former two-time world title challenger Tony “The Tiger” Thompson (40-6, 27 KOs) for their fight on HBO World Championship Boxing from the DC Armory in Washington, DC.
The 36-year-old Ortiz weighed in at 242.6lbs and looked in great shape. This is the normal; weight that the southpaw Ortiz comes in at. His opponent, the 44-year-old Thompson, weighed in at 263.8lbs. This is the same weight that Thompson weighed in for his last fight against Malik Scott last October.
(Photo Credit: Louis Tinsley – Tom Hogan Photos/Golden Boy Promotions) By Allan Fox: Former WBA light welterweight champion Jessie Vargas (26-1, 9 KOs) will be trying to become a two division world champion this Saturday night in his fight against unbeaten #1 WBO Sadam Ali (22-0, 9 KOs) in a clash for the vacant WBO welterweight title on HBO Boxing After ark at the DC Armory in Washington, DC.
Vargas and Ali will be fighting for the WBO title that was vacated recently by Timothy Bradley. The Ali-Vargas fight is the co-feature bout on the Luis Ortiz vs. Tony Thompson card.
While the 27-year-old Ali is well deserving of a world title shot due to his unbeaten record and recent wins over Francisco Santana and Luis Carlos Abregu, you can’t say the same thing about Vargas.
By Jeff Aranow: Interim WBA heavyweight champion Luis “The Real King Kong” Ortiz (24-0, 21 KOs) will be defending his title this Saturday night on March 5 on HBO Boxing against 44-year-old Tony Thompson (40-6, 27 KOs) in what should be an exciting match-up at the DC Armory, in Washington, District of Columbia.
In the co-feature bout is former WBA light welterweight champion Jessie Vargas (26-1, 9 KOs) facing unbeaten #1 WBO Sadam Ali (22-0, 13 KOs) in a fight for the vacant WBO welterweight title. This is the title that was recently vacated by Timothy Bradley, who opted to vacate the belt rather than defend it so that he could face Filipino star Manny Pacquiao on April 9 on HBO pay-per-view.
By Tim Fletcher: Former WBA light welterweight champion Jessie Vargas (26-1, 9 KOs) may be coming off of a one-sided 12 round unanimous decision defeat in his last fight to former WBO 147lb champion Tim Bradley last June, but he’s now about to get another shot at a title in his fight against #1 WBO Sadam Ali (22-0. 13 KOs) for the now vacant WBO welterweight title on March 5 at the DC Armory, in Washington, District of Columbia.
The Ali-Vargas fight will be televised on HBO Championship Boxing in the co-feature bout on the Luis Ortiz vs. Tony Thompson card.
Vargas, 26, is going to need to up his work rate if he wants to beat Ali, because he didn’t throw enough punches in his last fight against Bradley. Vargas was throwing a lot of single shots and getting outworked by Bradley in the fight.
By Tim Fletcher: The winner of this Saturday’s fight between WBO welterweight champion Tim Bradley (32-1-1, 12 KOs) and Brandon Rios (33-2-1, 24 KOs) will have only three months [90 days] to fight #1 WBO mandatory challenger Sadam Ali (22-0 13 KOs), according to the World Boxing Organization. That’s not much time for the winner to heal up from what could be a very tough fight on Saturday night at the Thomas & Mack Center in Las Vegas, Nevada.
“Per WBO, Bradley-Rios is for Bradley’s title. Winner has 90 days to face Sadam Ali, who blew $100K step aside for same outcome. #boxing,” Dan Rafael said on his Twitter.