By Thomas Gerbasi

Back when Prince Naseem Hamed was stirring up equal amounts of love and hate among those in the boxing community while starching featherweights left and right, it was a normal thing to see photos of Naz and his flaming gloves in the windows of Yemeni restaurants and storefronts in downtown Brooklyn.

Soon, another picture would join Hamed’s – one of Sadam Ali. At the time, it was an honor more important than any belt or medal for the Brooklynite.

“He (Hamed) is one of the reasons why I started boxing,” Ali said. “I grew up watching Prince Naseem and I was inspired by him. It wasn’t only beautiful boxing, it was also entertainment and he made it look like it was fun. So to follow in his footsteps is a beautiful feeling, but honestly I’m still climbing the ladder.”

At 26, Ali has a refreshing maturity in his approach to the fight game. After a stellar amateur career capped off by a spot on the 2008 U.S. Olympic team, he didn’t take a conventional path into the pro ranks. There was no signing with a major promoter, no early TV dates, and no huge media push. He even promoted himself for a spell.

“I started doing my own promotion and I was taking my time to sign with somebody because I didn’t want to rush into anything,” he said. “That’s what a lot of people were doing, but I wanted to work with the right people.”

Eventually, after building a 16-0 record through 2012, Golden Boy Promotions were the right fit for Ali, who debuted under the company’s banner in September of 2013 with a nationally-televised win over Jay Krupp. Three more victories have followed, putting Ali in the biggest fight of his career this Saturday in Atlantic City against hard-hitting Luis Carlos Abregu of Argentina.

The HBO-televised bout is the co-main event to the Bernard Hopkins-Sergey Kovalev title fight, and will most certainly be the most watched fight of Ali’s career. For those who forecast bright things for Ali since he first put on the gloves at the age of eight, this is his chance to finally shine in front of the world, a prospect he’s embracing.

“I am the “World Kid” Ali,” he laughs. “I don’t want just the United States to see me; I want the world to see me, so I’m excited about that.”

Is he ready for his close-up though? There is no question that Abregu represents Ali’s best opponent yet by a wide margin, and even in the New Yorker’s August bout against a decent, but unheralded, foe in Jeremy Bryan, he was rocked and forced to settle for a split decision win. On one hand, you could say Ali got in some good rounds and showed the ability to bounce back from adversity, but on the other you could be in the camp the fighter sits in at the moment when discussing the bout.

“I really wasn’t happy with my performance,” he said. “My mind was telling me to do things that my body wasn’t letting me at the time. I know what I can do and I was just expecting more out of myself. Honestly, I took it like a loss even though I knew I won, and I learned from it. It really helped me.”

Admitting that he felt weak due to fasting for Ramadan, Ali still took the brunt of the blame for the fight on his shoulders, an admirable trait these days, and if you wanted to know where his head is at after the Bryan bout, consider that he didn’t ask for any tune-ups before his big HBO debut. He went right for Abregu, whose lone loss in 37 fights was by decision to Tim Bradley in 2010. Since then, the 30-year-old from Salta has won seven straight, including wins over Thomas Dulorme and Antonin Decarie. Ali knows what he’s in for on Saturday night.

“He has power in both hands and he’s somebody you’ve got to be aware of at all times,” he said. “He’s got that power and he’s gonna come in and try to go for the knockout. I think that’s why a lot of people avoided him, because that fight doesn’t make sense for them to take that chance when he’s got that one-punch power that can end the fight. He’s a great fighter, and I’m definitely not underestimating him, but I feel like I’m ready.”

This is what fighters do. And while you can criticize Ali’s level of competition or question his chin after he got rocked by Bryan and dropped by Krupp, you can’t question his heart, and he knows it. That’s why he believe this is the fight to not only silence the critics, but make a statement to the welterweight division that six years after the 2008 Olympics, he’s here.

“I know a lot of people wanted to see me step up, but I not only took a step up, I took a double step up against somebody who’s really dangerous,” Ali said. “Some people were saying ‘I can’t believe you took this; why would you do that?’ But after this fight and after I win, nobody can doubt anything and I will get my credit and get my respect, and that’s what matters to me.”