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SSE Arena, Wembley - Bethnal Green Featherweight Ramla Ali dominated Bec Connolly over six rounds, winning 60-55 on the referee’s scorecard to move to 2-0.
The Somalia-born boxer displayed her classy ring skills from the opening bell, nearly stopping Connolly with a sustained attack in the third round before completing another one-sided points win.
“Apart from the shiner on my face I’m very satisfied,” Ali told Matchroom. “Regardless of what the scales said, I gave away about half a stone. I weighed-in in like two pairs of jogging bottoms just so I could match the weight. I felt the weight difference for sure, but I tried to not let her use her weight advantage against me.
“I tried to maintain the center of the ring as much as possible, which I did. I’m really satisfied with how I performed. She’s tough but I got it done. Jobi always says you can’t beat the feet – and he’s right! I was always moving off from the double jab. We work a lot on footwork, and I feel like I did really well with my footwork.
“[Connolly] was the one calling me out saying that she wanted to fight me. Don’t then turn around and complain that you’ve had short notice. You’re a professional, if I was calling someone out, I’d be ready any time. She said she had a couple of days’ notice. I don’t know what to say about that really.
“Everyone is nervous before getting in the ring because it means so much to you. You want to prove yourself and you want to show all of your friends and family that are watching at home that you’re worthy of watching. You want to put on a good performance and have a good fight. The moment that bell went all of the nerves went and I was razor focused on getting the job done. The Olympic dream is still alive and I’m still hopeful to go, and hopeful to compete. I’m still hoping to progress in my professional career.”