Ramla Said Ahmed Ali (born 16 September 1989) is a British[3] professional boxer, model and campaign activist. Selected as one of the twelve 2023 TIME Magazine woman of the year. Ramla Ali was the first Somali boxer to compete at the Olympic Games, the first to win an international gold medal for the country in boxing and is currently a global brand ambassador for UNICEF, Siro Hotels, Cartier & Christian Dior. She is the first female in history to have competed in a professional boxing competition in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.
Ramla Ali | |||||||||
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| Born | 16 September 1989[1] Mogadishu, Somalia | ||||||||
| Nationality |
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| Occupations |
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| Boxing career | |||||||||
| Statistics | |||||||||
| Weight(s) | Super bantamweight | ||||||||
| Height | 5 ft 7 in (170 cm) | ||||||||
| Stance | Orthodox | ||||||||
| Boxing record[2] | |||||||||
| Total fights | 11 | ||||||||
| Wins | 9 | ||||||||
| Wins by KO | 2 | ||||||||
| Losses | 2 | ||||||||
Career
editBoxing
editAs an amateur, Ali won the 2015 Novice national championships in England, the 2016 England Boxing Elite National Championships, the 2016 Great British Championships, and the 2019 African Zone featherweight title.[4]
Ali initially represented England but, in 2018, changed to represent Somalia. She has not returned to Somalia since leaving as a child but wanted to help put the country in the headlines for positive reasons. She became the first boxer to win an international gold medal while representing Somalia.[5] Later, in 2021, she competed in the women's featherweight event at the 2020 Summer Olympics. Although she lost her first fight, she became the first boxer ever to represent Somalia on the Olympic stage.[6]
In 2022, she defeated Dominican boxer Crystal Garcia Nova in the first professional women’s boxing match held in Saudi Arabia.[7]
WBC Super Bantamweight Championship
editAli challenged Yamileth Mercado for her WBC super bantamweight title at Footprint Center in Phoenix, Arizona on June 29, 2024, losing by unanimous decision.[8]
Writing
editRamla's debut novel Not Without A Fight is a self-help book based on ten of the most important fights in her life. It was published by Merky Books & Penguin Random House. It has also been announced that Academy Award nominated, BAFTA winning producer Lee Magiday will be making a feature-length drama in collaboration with Film4 based on the life story of Ramla Ali.[9][10][11][12][13][14][15]
Campaigning and advocacy
editAli helped set up Somalia's boxing federation in Mogadishu and became the first boxer to have represented Somalia in the Women's World Championships, held in New Delhi, India.
In January 2018, Ali launched The Sisters Club, a charitable initiative created to provide spaces for Muslim women and minorities to learn and enjoy boxing in the U.K. Subsequently, the initiative expanded to also welcome women who have experienced sexual assault or domestic violence to learn self-defence. The charity partnered with brands Nike, Sports Direct & Everlast to expand its program in 2021, enabling it to reach more women across the country.[4]
Ali committed to giving 25 percent of her first year's earnings as a professional to Black Lives Matter charities.[4]
Personal life
editAli moved to England from Somalia as a refugee from the Somali Civil War. When Ali was a toddler, her brother was killed at the age of 12 by a mortar when playing outside, prompting the family to leave for the UK via Kenya. She started boxing as a teenager in an effort to lose weight.[16]
Honours
editShe was one of fifteen women selected to appear on the cover of the September 2019 issue of British Vogue by guest editor Meghan, Duchess of Sussex.[17]
Professional boxing record
edit| 11 fights | 9 wins | 2 losses |
|---|---|---|
| By knockout | 2 | 1 |
| By decision | 7 | 1 |
| No. | Result | Record | Opponent | Type | Round, time | Date | Location | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 11 | Loss | 9–2 |  Yamileth Mercado
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UD | 10 | 29 Jun 2024 |  Footprint Center, Arizona, USA
|
For the WBC female super bantamweight title |
| 10 | Win | 9–1 | Julissa Guzman | UD | 10 | 4 Nov 2023 | Casino de Monte-Carlo, Monaco | [18] |
| 9 | Loss | 8–1 | Julissa Guzman | KO | 8 (10), 0:42 | 17 Jun 2023 | Smoothie King Center, New Orleans, Louisiana, US | [19] |
| 8 | Win | 8–0 |
Avril Mathie |
UD | 10 | 4 Feb 2023 | Hulu Theater, New York City, New York, US | [20] |
| 7 | Win | 7–0 |
Crystal Garcia Nova |
KO | 1 (8), 1:05 | 20 Aug 2022 | King Abdullah Sports City, Jeddah, Saudi Arabia | |
| 6 | Win | 6–0 |
Augustina Rojas |
PTS | 8 | 9 Jul 2022 | The O2 Arena, London, England | |
| 5 | Win | 5–0 |
Shelly Barnett |
KO | 2 (8), 2:33 | 19 Mar 2022 | ||
| 4 | Win | 4–0 |
Isela Vera |
UD | 6 | 27 Nov 2021 | ||
| 3 | Win | 3–0 |
Mikayla Nebel |
UD | 6 | 29 May 2021 | ||
| 2 | Win | 2–0 | Bec Connolly | PTS | 6 | 20 Mar 2021 | The SSE Arena, London, England | |
| 1 | Win | 1–0 | Eva Hubmayer | PTS | 6 | 31 Oct 2020 | The SSE Arena, London, England |
References
edit- ^ "Boxing ALI Ramla Said Ahmed - Tokyo 2020 Olympics". 10 August 2021. Archived from the original on 10 August 2021.
- ^ "Boxing record for Ramla Ali". BoxRec.
- ^ "BoxRec: Ramla Ali". BoxRec.
- ^ a b c "Why the boxer Ramla Ali is a force for good". Financial Times. 10 December 2020. Retrieved 29 December 2021.
- ^ "Featherweight Boxing Champion Ramla Ali". Elle. 12 November 2019. Retrieved 29 December 2021.
- ^ "Podcast: The Somali who kept boxing secret from her family". Olympics. Retrieved 24 July 2021.
- ^ Fatima, Sakina (21 August 2022). "Saudi: Ramla Ali wins 1st professional women's boxing match in 1 min". The Siasat Daily.
- ^ "Mercado beats Britain's Ali to retain WBC title". BBC Sport. Retrieved 30 June 2024.
- ^ Vasco Cotovio; Salma Abdelaziz (20 June 2018). "The refugee boxer tearing down barriers". CNN. Retrieved 23 August 2018.
- ^ "The Shortlist - The Muslim News". Muslimnews.co.uk. Retrieved 23 August 2018.
- ^ "We Are All Equal In Boxing". theguardian.com. 18 November 2018. Retrieved 18 November 2018.
- ^ "My Secret Life As A Boxing Champion". BBC Sport. Retrieved 12 October 2018.
- ^ Kay, Jeremy (8 September 2019). "Sleeper Film, Curate Films line up Somali boxing champion drama 'In The Shadows'". Screen. Retrieved 8 June 2020.
- ^ Ritman, Alex (8 September 2019). "Toronto: 'The Favourite' Producer Punches Up Boxing Biopic 'In the Shadows'". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved 8 June 2020.
- ^ D'Alessandro, Anthony (8 September 2019). "'The Favourite' Producer Lee Magiday Set To Make Film4 Pic 'In The Shadows' About Somali British Female Boxing Champ Ramla Ali". Deadline. Retrieved 8 June 2020.
- ^ "Somalian refugee finds success in the ring - CNN Video". CNN. 20 June 2018. Retrieved 23 August 2018.
- ^ "Meghan Markle puts Sinéad Burke on the cover of Vogue's September issue". The Irish Times. Retrieved 31 July 2019.
- ^ "Ramla Ali claims revenge over Julissa Alejandra Guzman despite 'jelly legs'". BBC Sport. 4 November 2023. Retrieved 8 November 2023.
- ^ Parviz Iskenderov (17 June 2023). "Julissa Alejandra Guzman KO's Ramla Ali with big left hook in Round 8". Fightmag. Retrieved 17 June 2023..
- ^ Parviz Iskenderov (5 February 2023). "Ramla Ali defeats Avril Mathie by decision to lift first belt". Fightmag. Retrieved 4 April 2023..
