Ex-refugee Ramla wins first Saudi women's boxing match in seconds

JEDDAH, Saudi Arabia, Aug 21 (AFP): Somali-born Briton Ramla Ali won the first professional women's boxing match held in Saudi Arabia with a spectacular first-round knock-out of Crystal Garcia Nova on Saturday.
Just seconds into the fight, after already connecting with heavy shots to the head and body, Ali sent Nova's gumshield flying with a fierce right that slammed into the Dominican fighter's jaw.
"I feel like I need to go back and do some more pads. I didn't really get out of first gear," said the 32-year-old at King Abdullah Sports City in Jeddah, adding: "It's cool to get the stoppage."
Ali, a former refugee from war in Somalia and fighting at super-bantamweight, now stands at 7-0 in her professional career as she moves towards an expected world title attempt. Before the fight, she said she hoped to be an inspiration in Saudi Arabia as she led a boxing class in Jeddah for Saudi women and girls as young as 15.
"The organisers inviting myself to compete and allowing this fight to go ahead really shows you the cultural shift in the landscape that is happening in the region," a press release quoted her as saying.
"I hope myself and my opponent, as well as the full card, competing in Saudi Arabia inspires future generations."
Saturday's fight was on the undercard of the world heavyweight clash between Anthony Joshua and defending champion Oleksandr Usyk.
Britain's Ramla Ali said she sometimes felt she was dreaming after her journey from Somali refugee to trailblazing women's boxer took a big leap forward in Saudi Arabia.
The devastating right hand, which sent the Dominican's gumshield flying, added another chapter in the fairytale of Mogadishu-born Ali, 32, whose family fled war in Somalia when she was a toddler.
Having taken up boxing after she was teased in school, Ali became the first Muslim woman to claim an English amateur title in 2016, and appeared on the front cover of British Vogue in 2019.
Now 7-0 in her professional career, with two knock-outs, Ali is moving steadily towards a world title shot that is expected to come next year.
"Sometimes it's like pinch-me moments," she told AFP. "But then sometimes you have to go back and think about who's watching or who you're inspiring.
"For me, the ultimate aim is knowing
that a little me is out there in the audience watching me, and will be inspired by me to do these big things as well."
Ali, who led a boxing class for Saudi women and girls in the build-up to the fight, said she was delighted to "make history" in the conservative kingdom, where women's sport had long been discouraged.
"No country is perfect," she said, when asked about criticism of Saudi Arabia's human rights record. "All a country can do is try to be better.
"And it's evident tonight that they're trying to have equality for women by putting on the first female fight and I'm all for that.
"I'm all for a country that's trying to make itself better," she continued.
Although the accolades are now piling up for Ali, she said it took years of hard work and rejection before she found success.
"It's surreal. A lot of people will think it's like an overnight success, but it's years and years of grafting, years of hard work," she said.
"Years of putting myself out there, years of rejection, years of 'no's. But yeah, everything that's happened has brought me to where I am today, so I have no regrets."