Sadam Ali (14-0, 8 KO’s, 147lbs) unveiled the debut of his new promotional company, Worldkid Promotions, in his backyard of Brooklyn, NY with great success. He faced off against Franklin Gonzalez (15-9, 10 KO’s, 146lbs), who is no stranger to fighting in Brooklyn against a local favorite. Ali, with his amateur pedigree as a 2008 US Olympian, took a calculated approach to this fight. He hasn’t been in the ring in nine months (His longest layoff), and was not going to give away any openings to his veteran opponent.
Despite his extremely loud and boisterous fanbase urging him, Ali took his time finding openings. Gonzalez gave him those openings with right hands in an attempt to catch the elusive Ali, but the former Olympian did not give anything away. Ali worked the body, knowing that Gonzalez’ veteran tendencies wanted Ali to waste punches upstairs.
Throughout the fight, Gonzalez would duck low in order to avoid Ali’s blows. It didn’t seem to frustrate Ali much, but it did prevent him from throwing as many punches as he probably could have. Still, it was Ali in total control of the fight, as Gonzalez’ punches came few and far between. As the bout progressed, Ali’s plan of breaking Gonzalez down was working perfectly. Finally, in the eighth round, a right hand stunned Gonzalez. Ali followed up with a combination that sent Gonzalez down. After beating the count, Gonzalez fought hard to survive, but Ali was too quick and Gonzalez’ legs were too spent. Another combination saw Gonzalez go down, and this time the referee waved it off. Ali won with a TKO at the 2:22 mark of the eighth round.
Jennifer Santiago (119lbs) made her professional debut as the co-feature of the night. She took on Mikayla Nebal (0-1, 120lbs) in an entertaining scrap scheduled for four rounds. Both fighters fought very well and were able to showcase some impressive defensive head movement. It was Santiago who had the heavier hands, though, as she was able to back Nebal up frequently with her punches. The fourth and final round saw lots of action, but the final bell rang, and it came to the scorecards. Two judges had it 40-36, while one had it 39-37, all in favor of Santiago.
Steven Gamache (2-0, 1 KO, 151lbs) put in good work against a savvier than expected Willie Bryant (0-3-1, 152lbs). Gamache took his time and stalked Bryant into the ropes, where he put in his best work. By the third round, Gamache began utilizing an uppercut that was very effective against his tiring opponent. The final scores all read 40-36 in favor of Gamache for the unanimous decision victory.
Armin Mrkanovic (2-1, 1 KO, 189lbs) dominated Daniel Pietch (180), who was making his professional debut. Mrkanovic began the fight looking sharp with his counter punches. Despite his impressive physique, Mrkanovic does not utilize any brawling tactics. Instead, he takes a calculated approach at his craft, violently taking advantage of openings made by his opponent. Pietch did not seem too shaken by Mrkanovic’s punches early on, and even tried taunting to get Mrkanovic to make a mistake. That did not work well, and by the fourth round, Pietch was exhausted and not throwing any punches. Mrkanovic began landing combinations at will, with nothing in return, and the referee was forced to call a halt to the action. Mrkanovic was credited with a TKO victory at the 1:10 point of the fourth round.
Akil Frederick-Auguste (159lbs) and Jamil Gadsden (156lbs) made their professional debuts to open up the evening’s event. A talent differential was evident right away as Fredrick-Auguste landed an early overhand right that sent Gadsden crashing onto his back. Gadsden, utterly outmatched, somehow managed to make it out of the round, but it didn’t take much longer for Fredrick-Auguste to put him away. Two more knockdowns in the second forced the referee to end the bout at the 2:26 point in the second. Fredrick-Auguste received a TKO victory.
