ARLINGTON, Texas — British-Somali boxer Ramla Ali achieved her dream of becoming a world champion for the first time at the age of 36 on Sunday night, securing the vacant WBO and IBF women’s junior featherweight titles at the College Park Center in Arlington, Texas. However, her milestone triumph was immediately overshadowed by widespread controversy, as she escaped with a highly contentious 10-round split decision over her former sparring partner, Mikiah Kreps, in a contest that appeared to many ringside observers to have been largely controlled by her opponent.
The victory marked the culmination of a extraordinary personal and athletic journey for Ali, who reached the pinnacle of the 122lb division on her second attempt at a world championship. Yet, the celebratory moment was inextricably linked to a verdict from the ringside judges that sparked sharp debate across the combat sports community, with the official scorecards contradicting both the apparent momentum of the fight and the overwhelming post-fight punch statistics.
The contest began favorably for Ali, who holds a professional record of 12-2 with 3 KOs. She established an early advantage in the third round by scoring a decisive knockdown, catching Kreps flush on the chin with a sharp right hook that forced the American to touch the canvas with her glove. The early breakthrough seemed to position the 36-year-old veteran to take control of the championship bout.
Far from being discouraged, the 30-year-old Kreps responded to the early adversity with aggressive determination. The New Yorker, entering the ring with an undefeated record of 11-0, immediately increased her punch volume and exerted relentless forward pressure. Kreps repeatedly crowded Ali, forcing exchanges on the inside and disrupting the British-Somali fighter’s rhythmic boxing style. Throughout the middle and late rounds, Kreps consistently got the better of the exchanges, pressing the action and controlling the tempo of the fight to dominate the majority of the remaining frames.
When the 10 rounds concluded, the ringside arbiters produced a wildly divided verdict. Two judges ruled in favor of Ali with scores of 97-92 and 96-93, while the third judge scored the bout heavily for Kreps at 98-91. The Guardian’s unofficial ringside scorecard favored Kreps by a margin of 97-92.
The controversy deepened significantly upon the release of Compubox’s official punch statistics, which demonstrated a clear statistical superiority for Kreps across nearly every measurable metric. Over the course of the 10-round fight, Kreps outlanded Ali by 115 to 78 in total punches, including a commanding 91 to 70 advantage in power shots. Compubox recorded Kreps as outlanding Ali in eight of the 10 rounds. The American fighter also maintained a vastly superior work rate, throwing 525 total punches compared to Ali’s 346.
The announcement of the decision produced an outpouring of emotion inside the ring. Upon hearing her name called as the winner, an overwhelmed Ali dropped directly to her knees and wept openly on the canvas. The emotional weight of the moment was tied closely to personal tragedy, as Ali later revealed that her father had passed away six months prior in May.
During her post-fight interview in the ring, Ali reflected on the memory of her father and the motivation provided by her corner prior to the bout. She explained that in the changing room before walking out, her trainer had explicitly invoked her father’s memory, urging her to win the world titles in his honor. Ali stated that the intense emotions she displayed upon hearing the verdict were the direct result of having fought and won for her late father.
Ali also addressed the sheer physical toll of the contest and offered warm praise to Kreps, acknowledging the grueling pace that her former sparring partner had imposed throughout the 10 rounds. She candidly shared that during the fight, she continuously told her corner how exhausted she was due to Kreps’ relentless work rate, describing her opponent’s energy and pressure as being on another level.
Despite the raw emotion of Ali’s victory, the outcome generated immediate backlash from prominent figures within the sport. Veteran boxing promoter Lou DiBella, widely regarded as one of the sport’s most vocal critics regarding officiating integrity, voiced outrage over the decision. Taking to social media shortly after the fight, DiBella condemned the scoring, stating that Kreps had clearly won the fight by a comfortable margin and suggesting that even a blind observer could have seen the outcome. DiBella added that boxing repeatedly fails to get out of its own way and declared himself appalled by the judges’ decision, calling for a formal investigation into the scoring.
For Ali, the dual championship victory represents a dramatic redemption following her previous attempt to claim a world title more than two years ago. In her first world championship opportunity, she suffered a 10-round unanimous decision loss to Mexico’s Yamileth Mercado in a challenge for the WBC junior featherweight belt. Overcoming that setback to claim two world titles at age 36 adds another historic chapter to a life story that has long extended far beyond the sport of boxing.
Born in Somalia, Ali fled the country’s devastating civil war with her family as a child before settling in East London. She went on to make sporting history by becoming the first boxer to represent Somalia at the Olympic Games. Beyond her athletic achievements, Ali has established a prominent career in the global fashion industry after signing with IMG Models in 2019. She has graced the covers of major international publications including Elle, Harper’s Bazaar Arabia, and Dazed, attended the prestigious Met Gala, and served as an official ambassador for Dior.
In addition to her modeling work, Ali serves as a UNICEF ambassador and is an active philanthropist. In 2018, she founded the Sisters Club, an initiative that provides free boxing classes to vulnerable women, including survivors of domestic abuse. Her remarkable trajectory from war refugee to international icon recently reached the big screen with the premiere of In the Shadows, a feature film biopic starring Top Boy actor Jasmine Jobson that debuted last month.
While Ali’s contentious title win captured much of the night’s attention, the card’s main event featured a masterful display from three-belt junior lightweight champion Alycia Baumgardner. Moving up to the 135lb lightweight division, the 32-year-old Ohio native systematically dismantled Elif Nur Turhan to claim the IBF lightweight world championship.
Baumgardner produced a completely dominant performance against Turhan, with all three ringside judges submitting shutout scorecards of 100-90 in her favor. The bout was contested under men’s championship rules, utilizing 10 rounds of three minutes each rather than the traditional two-minute rounds standard in women’s boxing. Following her commanding performance, Baumgardner made her future intentions clear, announcing her goal to achieve undisputed status at lightweight just as she had previously done at 130 pounds.
Baumgardner’s post-fight declaration immediately reignited a fiery rivalry with Britain’s Caroline Dubois, the reigning WBC and WBO lightweight champion, who was watching the event from ringside. Moments after Baumgardner’s hand was raised, the two champions engaged in a heated ringside confrontation, trading sharp words and reigniting a feud that has simmered between them for months. The 25-year-old Dubois has repeatedly accused Baumgardner of ducking a showdown, while Baumgardner has countered by claiming that the younger British fighter has not yet earned the right to step into the ring with her.
Dubois is currently scheduled to return to the ring on February 20 at the Don Haskins Center in El Paso, Texas, where she will face Stephanie Han in a 135lb unification bout with the WBA, WBC, and WBO titles on the line. Should Dubois emerge victorious in El Paso, it would clear the path for a massive four-belt blockbuster against Baumgardner for the undisputed lightweight championship, setting up what could be one of the most significant fights in women’s boxing in 2027.
Sunday’s championship double-header highlighted the seventh official event staged by Most Valuable Promotions Women (MVP Women). Launched in March by boxer and influencer Jake Paul in partnership with a three-year broadcast deal with ESPN, the promotional series was designed to provide top-tier female fighters with regular, high-profile exposure on linear television networks.
The undercard in Arlington delivered additional championship action across multiple weight classes. Australia’s Skye Nicolson successfully defended her WBC junior featherweight title with a disciplined unanimous decision victory over Japan’s Miyo Yoshida, earning scores of 100-90, 99-91, and 98-92. In the junior bantamweight division, Mexico’s Irma Garcia unified the IBF and WBA world titles by defeating Panama’s Nataly Delgado via unanimous decision, with all three judges scoring the fight 97-92 following a sixth-round knockdown scored by Garcia.
The preliminary portion of the broadcast contained its own drama when Brittany Sims and Shera Mae Patricio fought to a 10-round split draw in their battle for the vacant WBA regular bantamweight championship. One judge scored the bout 97-93 for Sims, a second judge turned in a wide 100-90 card for Patricio, and the third judge scored it deadlocked at 95-95, leaving the title unclaimed and setting up a likely future rematch.
