The biggest fight on the Wladimir Klitschko vs Bryant Jennings card was a battle between two welterweights as Brooklyn’s own Sadam Ali (21-0 with 13 KOs) squared off against Francisco Santana (22-3-1 with 11 KOs) of Santa Barbara, California. It was a non-title bout of two skilled fighters that had average pop, and it was scheduled to go 10 rounds. It was also the 1st bout schedule on HBO Boxing as they began to air their part of the card.
In round one was actually good action from both sides. Santana, who rehydrated over 20 pounds overnight, was the aggressor. Ali threw more combos and with a flurry by both men at the end of the round, it made it a coin flip round.
As round two started, Santana continued to be aggressive, but Ali’s jab not only held him at bay, but also led him into some nice punching combos that turned Santana’s face red. It definitely seemed like a round for Ali.
They moved to round three and it started similar to the 1st two rounds with Santana coming forward with a style similar to Brandon Rios. He was constantly coming forward with his head down and throwing punches, but he wasn’t cutting off the ring, but he did connect on some hard shots and may have taken the round.
Round four both fighters stayed active, but nothing eventful really took place in the round. Santana continued to come forward and Ali continues to use his legs and try not to get trapped against the ropes to take too much punishment.
Santana had one of his best rounds in round five. He did a better job at cutting off the ring and landed some good combos while Ali had his back against the ropes. Neither man seemed to be tiring as they moved on to round six.
Ali pushed the action much more in round six, throwing even more punches and keeping his back off the ropes for the most part. Ali seemed to throw more forceful punches in the round and moved enough to prevent much punishment from Santana.
As we moved onto round seven, Ali continued his good work from round six. He moved very well displayed some good combos, as well as using the jab very well to keep Santana off of him. Santana finally got a couple shots off at the end of the round, but I still gave it to Ali.
There was a little bit more holding in round eight and while Ali avoided most of Santana’s punches, he didn’t throw as much as the previous couple rounds. Ali probably edged the round out, but it wasn’t a clearly dominant round.
As round nine started, you can see numerous marks on the face of Francisco Santana and while Ali was also slightly marked up, the crowd could obviously see who was taking more punishment, and so could the judges. Both men seem a little more tired, and their punches began to get wild and wide. Another coin flip round that could have gone either way.
In the tenth and final round, Santana threw everything he had left. He charged in, threw about 30 punches in the 1st minute, and seemed to wear himself out. He got a 2nd wind, but Ali by then had landed a few solid shots to take over the round. The final round ended with Ali just moving for the last 30 seconds to avoid getting caught.
After 10 rounds on my card I have Ali winning 96-94 with a possible extra swing round or two that could have made it 97-93. The judges agreed as Sadam Ali won by unanimous decision 97-93, 97-93, and 100-90 (there’s always one weird card), as Ali remained undefeated after 22 pro bouts.
