Ali promotion in motion
THERE HAS never been any question about Sadam Ali’s potential star power and attraction at the gate. He was a member of the 2008 U.S. Olympic boxing team and a former New York Daily News Golden Gloves champion.
Those are the things that boxing promoters are concerned about when they are developing a contender. Those are the things that Ali has to now concern himself with as he and his father, David, have formed their own company, World Wide Kid Ali Promotions, tomove his career along.
They staged their first show under their new promotional banner at the Brooklyn Aviator Sports Complex on Saturday night with Ali as the main event of a five-bout card, taking on Franklin Gonzalez in an eightround welterweight bout.
A raucous crowd came to support Ali and the other boxers, most either making their pro debuts or having less than five fights appearing in four-round matches. That meant that the pace of the show was very fast as there were only 24 rounds of boxing scheduled. It wasn’t the greatest card ever promoted in Brooklyn, but it was a start.
It was the perfect showcase for the speedy Ali (14-0, 9 KOS), who fought like a promoter, toying with Gonzalez (15-10, 11 KOS) for seven rounds to please the crowd before closing the show with at kovictory at2:22 of the eighth. As one fan said it was over before it started.
People lined the walls of the hangar-style building, and several members of the New York boxing community came to show their support, including Paulie Malignaggi, the WBA welterweight champion who also hails from Brooklyn, and Marcus Browne, a member of the 2012 U.S. Olympic boxing team who is from Staten Island. Between fights a DJ filled the building with music.
Ralph Petrillo, a member of the New York State Athletic Commission, said he didn’t have a problem licensing World Wide Kid Promotions.
“We were familiar with a lot of the people he had helping him, like Felipe Gomez, who acted as his matchmaker,” Petrillo said. “We know Felipe and his team because they’ve promoted shows in New York before. We also knew about the venue, about the security, the fact that there would be an ambulance. We were comfortable enough with everything that we thought they could make a good show.”
Gomez, a promoter in Ozone Park, acted as Ali’s matchmaker for the card. He said three fights fell out over the last three days, including one when a boxer couldn’t pass the MRI at the weigh-in on Friday. They were also hoping to get Eddie Gomez, another budding Brooklyn star, on the card. But Gomez, who is signed to a promotional contract with Golden Boy Promotions, pulled out when an opponent for him couldn’t be found.
Such is life in boxing promotions. There are risks with any card, but typically they’re absorbed by promoters who have been in the business for a while and not by a young prospect and his father. “I’m a promoter. I know the risks and the money you can lose,” Gomez said. “A kid and his father taking this kind of chance and stepping up to promote their own shows is definitely courageous.”
Many of those in attendance applauded Ali for taking the step to move his own career forward. “It’s very ambitious,” Malignaggi said. “At times he’s going to need the help of a big-time promoter. But he’s building something now.”
Anthony Catanzaro, who makes matches for Ali, helped organize the show. He saw the inaugural card as a litmus test for Ali’s ability to draw on his star power.
“Sadam and his father are very smart guys,” Catanzaro said. “They know that Sadam is already a big ticket seller. He has already gotten good exposure from being on TV on the cards of some other big time promoters. They know that in the business of boxing a lot of things can go your way if you cansell tickets in your hometown.”
David Ali didn’t give an attendance figure, but said he was surprised with the turnout and pleased with how the first promotion unfolded.
“It was hard, but it was a learning experience. Like learning how to drive a car for the first time,” he said. “We'll come back with another show in about three months.”