Ramla Ali claims WBO and IBF titles with split-decision win over Mikiah Kreps

Ramla Ali secured the first world titles of her career on Sunday night, defeating Mikiah Kreps by split decision in Arlington, Texas, to take the vacant WBO and IBF women’s junior featherweight belts. According to the Guardian’s report, the 36-year-old British-Somali boxer won the 10-round contest at College Park Center despite a strong challenge from her former sparring partner and sharply conflicting assessments from the judges.

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Two scorecards gave Ali the victory, 97-92 and 96-93, while the third favoured Kreps by 98-91. Ali scored a knockdown in the third round, landing a right hook that caused Kreps to touch the canvas with her glove. The result moved Ali’s professional record to 12 wins and two defeats, with three knockouts. Kreps suffered her first loss, leaving her with 11 wins and one defeat, also with three knockouts.

The Guardian reported that Kreps responded to the knockdown by increasing her output and pressing Ali, disrupting her rhythm through the remaining rounds. Compubox figures cited in the report credited Kreps with 115 landed punches to Ali’s 78, including a 91-70 advantage in power punches. Kreps threw 525 punches against Ali’s 346 and landed more shots in eight of the 10 rounds. The Guardian’s own scorecard favoured Kreps 97-92.

The decision drew criticism from promoter Lou DiBella, who called on social media for an investigation into the scoring. Ali, meanwhile, acknowledged the difficulty of handling Kreps’s work rate in her post-fight remarks. She dropped to her knees after the result and spoke about dedicating the win to her father, who died in May, explaining that her coach had invoked his memory before she entered the ring.

The championship breakthrough came on Ali’s second attempt at a world title. Her earlier challenge ended in a unanimous-decision defeat to Yamileth Mercado for the WBC junior featherweight championship. Ali grew up in east London after her family fled Somalia’s civil war and later became the first boxer to represent Somalia at the Olympics. After Sunday’s win, she spoke of hoping her achievement would encourage young people to pursue their ambitions.

Elsewhere on the same card, Alycia Baumgardner added the IBF lightweight title by beating Elif Nur Turhan unanimously, with all three judges scoring their bout 100-90. Skye Nicolson also retained her WBC junior featherweight championship against Miyo Yoshida by unanimous decision. Ali’s victory gave her two belts in that division, although the disagreement over her contest’s scoring remained a central part of the night’s outcome.