Ramla Ali achieved her first world championship victory at age 36 when she defeated Mikiah Kreps via split decision on Sunday night in Arlington, Texas, capturing the vacant WBO and IBF women’s junior featherweight titles. The bout marked Ali’s second attempt at a world championship, following an unsuccessful bid more than two years prior.
The decision proved highly contentious, with two judges scoring in Ali’s favor at 97-92 and 96-93, while the third judge favored Kreps 98-91. Ali scored a knockdown in the third round when Kreps touched the canvas after taking a right hook. However, Kreps appeared to control much of the fight thereafter, maintaining higher work rates and consistently winning exchanges. Compubox statistics supported this assessment, showing Kreps outlanded Ali 115 to 78 overall, including a 91-70 advantage in power shots, and connected on more punches in eight of the ten rounds. The decision drew sharp criticism from veteran promoter Lou DiBella and other observers.
Ali’s emotional victory held special personal significance, as she dedicated it to her father who passed away in May. The British-Somali fighter, who fled Somalia’s civil war as a child and became the first boxer to represent the country at the Olympics, acknowledged her opponent’s impressive performance during the post-fight interview. Beyond boxing, Ali has established a notable profile as an IMG Models client, Dior ambassador, and Unicef ambassador, while also founding Sisters Club in 2018 to provide free boxing classes to vulnerable women.
On the same card, three-belt junior lightweight champion Alycia Baumgardner moved up to 135 pounds and claimed the IBF lightweight title with a commanding unanimous decision over Elif Nur Turhan, with all judges scoring 100-90. Baumgardner subsequently engaged in a heated confrontation with WBC and WBO lightweight champion Caroline Dubois, who was ringside. Earlier on the program, Skye Nicolson retained her WBC junior featherweight title, and Irma Garcia unified IBF and WBA junior bantamweight titles with a sixth-round knockdown featured in her victory.
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