Ramla Ali set to make women’s boxing history in Jeddah

For Ramla Ali, history awaits on Saturday night.

When the British Somali boxer takes on Crystal Garcia Nova on the Oleksandr Usyk versus Anthony Joshua card at Rage on the Red Sea, she will be part of the first ever female professional boxing bout in Saudi Arabia.

As a Muslim and African female pugilist, it is a moment she does not take lightly, and one that did not come easy either.

Adversity has been her constant companion throughout her career.

Ali was born in Somalia in 1989 but fled the war-torn Horn of Africa country with her family at the age of 12 to seek asylum in the UK.

In school, Ali struggled with her weight, so her mother sent her to a local gym in England where she soon discovered “boxercise” and started taking up the sweet science without her family’s knowledge.

She caught the eye of talent scouts with regional success, representing England across Europe and eventually winning multiple amateur boxing titles.

But she claims it was not winning amateur titles and other national level achievements that made her take the leap into professional boxing.

Rather it was sparring with formidable US professional world champions and training in gyms across Europe that gave her the belief she deserved a place in the professional ranks.

“Every competition means the world to you at that time. Looking back obviously they don’t all seem to hold the same value but they’re all important chapters in the journey of a sporting career,” said Ali. “Now my family are my biggest supporters which means everything to me as I don’t think I would have wanted to continue if there was still conflict (with them).

“My parents of course would rather I didn’t punch people for a living, but they now understand it’s given me a