Ramla Ali wins first world titles at 36 with highly controversial split decision

Ramla Ali (right) exchanges punches with Mikiah Kreps during the third round of their world junior featherweight title fight on Sunday in Arlington, Texas. Photograph: Julio Cortez/AP View image in fullscreen Ramla Ali (right) exchanges punches with Mikiah Kreps during the third round of their world junior featherweight title fight on Sunday in Arlington, Texas. Photograph: Julio Cortez/AP British-Somali boxer claims first world titles in Texas Kreps outlands Ali but loses disputed split decision Baumgardner wins 135lb belt as Dubois feud heats up British-Somali boxer Ramla Ali became a world champion for the first time at the age of 36 on Sunday night after escaping with a highly contentious 10-round split decision over former sparring partner Mikiah Kreps to claim the vacant WBO and IBF women’s junior featherweight titles in Arlington, Texas. But Kreps (11-1, 3 KOs) appeared galvanized , ramping up her volume and applying relentless pressure that disrupted Ali’s rhythm as the 30-year-old American consistently got the better of the exchanges and appeared to win the majority of the remaining rounds. The ringside arbiters were sharply divided, with Ali prevailing 97-92 and 96-93 while the third judge favored Kreps 98-91. (The Guardian had it 97-92 for Kreps.) Compubox’s punch statistics only cast further doubt on the decision. Kreps outlanded Ali by 115 blows to 78 overall, including a 91-70 edge in power shots, while connecting on the greater number of punches in eight of the 10 rounds. The New Yorker also threw 525 punches to Ali’s 346, maintaining a substantially higher work rate throughout the contest. When the scores were announced, an overwhelmed Ali dropped to her knees and wept. She then spoke of her father who died six months ago, saying that her trainer had invoked his memory before the fight. View image in fullscreen Ramla Ali drops to her knees after defeating Mikiah Kreps by a controversial split decision to claim the vacant IBF and WBO junior featherweight world titles on Sunday night. Photograph: Julio Cortez/AP“When we were in the changing room, my coach said, because my dad passed away in May, ‘Do this for him,’” Ali said during an in-ring interview. “That’s where those emotions came out at the end, because I did it for my dad.” Ali also paid tribute to Kreps, acknowledging her opponent’s industry and crowding tactics that had made the contest so difficult. “Every time I went to the corner, I kept saying, ‘I’m so tired.