The 36-year-old Ali was scheduled to fight on Sunday, February 23, ending a nearly five-year absence. He was supposed to headline in an eight-round bout against Victoriano Santillan at Kings Theatre in Ali’s home borough of Brooklyn, New York, but the entire card is now off after Ali suffered an injury in training.
The show, which was to be promoted by Ali’s World Kid Promotions, also included the return of former IBF lightweight titlist Richard Commey, plus rising bantamweight contender Khalid Twaiti. A source with World Kid Promotions tells BoxingScene that the card is expected to be rescheduled once Ali consults with his doctor and the venue.
“We haven’t had a chance to speak to the venue because it’s the holiday weekend,” said the source. “I’m thinking by next week we should have everything.”
Ali, a 2008 U.S. Olympian, won the WBO junior middleweight title in 2017 with an upset victory over Miguel Cotto but lost that belt in his first defense, against Jaime Munguia in 2018.
Ali, 27-3 (14 KOs), hasn’t fought since his third-round stoppage loss to Anthony Young in May 2019.
Ryan Songalia is a reporter and editor for BoxingScene.com and has written for ESPN, the New York Daily News, Rappler, The Guardian, Vice and The Ring magazine. He holds a Master’s degree in Journalism from the Craig Newmark Graduate School of Journalism and is a member of the Boxing Writers Association of America. He can be reached at [email protected] or on Twitter at @ryansongalia.
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