Klitschko vs Jennings undercard results: Sadam Ali stays undefeated with win over Francisco Santana

Sadam Ali remained undefeated tonight, as the welterweight prospect opened up the HBO Boxing After Dark broadcast with a solid win over a very tough and game Francisco Santana, winning a 10-round unanimous decision on scores of 97-93, 97-93 and 100-90.

SB Nation scored the fight 95-95, shading a couple of close rounds Santana’s way. The 97-93 scores for Ali are respectable, and Sadam certainly didn’t get a gift here, but the 100-90 card from judge Alan Rubenstein is atrocious, as bad a scorecard as you’ll see any time soon. (Knock on wood.)

The fight played out pretty interestingly, as the clash in styles made for some good action and a nice pace. Santana walked Ali down in the opening round, looking to use a rather enormous size advantage. Both fighters weighed in just under the limit of 147 pounds yesterday, with Ali rehydrating to 153 pounds, which is more or less normal for a welterweight. Santana, meanwhile, rehydrated a full 20 pounds to 167 pounds on the HBO unofficial scale, which is outrageous.

In the second round, Ali landed a big flurry of power shots and started targeting the body, looking to slow Santana down, but Santana did rally a bit late in the round. Santana returned to his pressure in the third round, landing some good right hands and imposing his will on the slicker, quicker Ali.

The middle rounds saw Ali sticking and moving a bit more, making Santana miss and preventing him from cutting off the ring quite as well as he had in the early going. Santana did find some success in round eight, wobbling Ali just a bit and landing some good, hard left hooks.

Santana continued fighting hard in the eighth and ninth rounds, and the fight appeared up for grabs going into the 10th round. Ali put a stamp on the fight in the final frame, though, outlanding and outworking Santana significantly, and doing some good damage.

It’s a solid win for Ali (22-0, 13 KO), who may now look to work his way into the elite ranks of the welterweight division by the end of 2015. Santana drops to 22-4-1 (11 KO) with the loss.

Other Undercard Action

Heavyweight Charles Martin improved to 21-0-1 (19 KO) with a first round TKO win over Tom Dallas (17-5, 12 KO). Though Martin, 29, does have legitimate power, it’s worth noting that the 6’6” Dallas has a history of being stopped early, as all five of his losses have come within the first five rounds, and four of those within the first two rounds.

Junior welterweight prospect and recent Manny Pacquiao sparring partner Kenneth Sims Jr won a six-round unanimous decision over Luis Rodriguez. Sims is now 6-0 (2 KO), while Rodriguez falls to 3-3 (2 KO).