By Ian S Palmer
Sadam Ali returns to the ring to face fellow American Mauricio Herrera in a 10 round welterweight this Saturday, December 15th at Madison Square Garden in New York City. The fight can be seen live in North America on DAZN while fans in the UK can catch the action on Sky Sports. Ali last fought in May when he was knocked out in the fourth round by Jaime Munguia and lost his WBO Super Welterweight Title. Herrera hasn’t fought since August of 2017 when he beat Jesus Soto Karass by 10-round majority decision.
The 30-year-old Ali hails from Brooklyn, New York and has an impressive record of 26-2 along with 14 Kos. His other defeat came against Jessie Vargas by a ninth-round stoppage for the vacant WBO Title in March of 2016. Ali had an excellent amateur career and earned a spot America’s 2008 Olympic boxing team, fighting at the 2008 Games in Beijing, China. He stands 5-feet-9-inches tall with a 73-inch reach and has boxed 156 rounds since turning pro in 2009. Ali isn’t known as a big puncher as his current knockout ratio stands at 50 per cent.
Ali would prefer to use his boxing skills rather than slug it out, but shouldn’t be underestimated when it comes to his power and his chin even though he’s been stopped twice. He was at his very best against the future hall of famer Miguel Cotto last December when he won the WBO title by unanimous decision. He’s has also beaten the likes of Johan Perez, Luis Abregu and Saul Corral. His only elite opponents so far have been Munguia, Vargas and Cotto though and he’s 1-2 when stepping up in class and he’s chosen a light hitter in Herrera in his return bout.
Mauricio Herrera hails from Riverside, California and the veteran is now 38 years old. He’s going to have some ring rust since he hasn’t fought in well over a year. He’s proven over the years that he’s tough to beat due to his excellent boxing skills, but he’s still lost seven times as he enters the ring with a mark of 24-7 with just 7 Kos. Six of his seven defeats have come in his last 12 outings and all of his losses have been by decision with most of them being quite controversial. So far in his career he’s held the WBA World Super Lightweight title along with the IBF North American Super Lightweight and USNBC Super Lightweight and Welterweight crowns.
Herrera has been in with some of the best in the division and even though he doesn’t have much in the way of power, he also has victories over the likes of Mike Dallas, Hank Lundy, Johan Perez, Miguel Angel Huerta and Ruslan Provodnikov. Herrera turned pro in 2007 and has 241 rounds under his belt since then. His KO percentage stands at just 23 so he doesn’t have much in the way of power, but he has a great chin. He stands just over 5-feet-7-inches tall and has a reach of 71.5. Herrera has lost to Danny Garcia, Pablo Cesar Cano, Frankie Gomez, Jose Benavidez, Karim Mayfield, Mike Alvarado and Mike Anchondo.
Prediction…
Both of these guys have plenty of experience. Ali was at his best against Cotto, but Cotto did suffer a bicep injury during the fight. He’s had a hard time when facing power punchers, but that won’t be the case with the light-hitting Herrera. Ali is quick on his feet and likes to throw his effective left hook to keep his opponents honest and I think the eight-year age difference could be a big factor here. Herrera is a fine boxer, but I think the 16 months out of the ring and the age will result in another close defeat.
