By David P. Greisman

Boardwalk Hall, Atlantic City - On paper, it should’ve been the toughest test of Sadam Ali’s career. In reality, Sadam Ali outclassed Luis Carlos Abregu en route to a ninth-round technical knockout.

Ali came into this bout nearly six years into a pro career in which his development had been slow. He had been a free agent for several of his developmental years, slowing his progress and leaving him without experienced matchmakers to help bring him along. He ultimately signed with Golden Boy Promotions, but even in his previous outing Ali had struggled in a split decision in August over a 17-3 opponent named Jeremy Bryan.

He was facing in Luis Carlos Abregu a foe whose only pro loss had come against Timothy Bradley back in 2010. Abregu had stopped then-undefeated Thomas Dulorme in 2012 and outpointed prospect Antonin Decarie in 2013.

They showed tremendous respect for each other for much of the first four or five rounds, in which both guys were cautious and often came up just short with their own shots. The crowd booed.

In the sixth, though, Abregu missed a right hand and then walked into a good right hand from Ali. Abregu went down, beat the count and spent the rest of the round moving away, his legs unsteady.

Ali had Abregu retreating again early in the seventh. Ali continued to potshot Abregu, whose knees buckled, yet Abregu was able to land a good left hand and remind Ali that he was still dangerous. That allowed Abregu to come forward for the remainder of the round.

Abregu kept leaving himself vulnerable to Ali’s counters, though, throwing right hands and getting caught with left hooks. Abregu was shaken again in the eighth on more than one occasion. And when Abregu would press Ali against the ropes, he wouldn’t go to Ali’s body, aiming instead for his head and often missing.

Abregu had Ali on the ropes again at the start of the ninth, still not doing any damage. Ali got him away, then landed a left and a right hand that had Abregu hurt once more. Ali soon landed a right hand and a left hook and Abregu went down for the second time in the evening. He got back up, only to get hit with a few right hands that referee Harvey Dock felt provided enough reason to halt the bout. The time of the stoppage was 1:59.

“He’s a great fighter,” Abregu said afterward. “I thought the ref stopped it abruptly because I could’ve continued. His speed is what got to me. He was very fast and would find a way to get out. He was way faster than I thought he was going to be.”

Abregu went just 66 of 375 on the night, according to CompuBox, an 18 percent connect rate. That included 52 of 188 power punches, a 28 percent connect rate. Ali, meanwhile, was 105 of 341 in total, a 31 percent connect rate, including 73 of 190 power shots, or 38 percent.

Ali was ahead on all three scorecards 78-73 at the time of the stoppage.

“He’s very strong. I had to be aware the whole time. I was prepared,” Ali said afterward. “This is what I always wanted for myself. I knew I had to earn it, and today I earned it. We stuck to the plan. Even when I got hurt, I knew mentally to get out of the way. I was so focused. I’m ready for bigger and better things.”

Ali, 26, of Brooklyn, New York, is now 21-0 with 13 KOs. Abregu, 30, from Salta, Argentina, is now 36-2 with 29 KOs.

Pick up a copy of David’s book, “Fighting Words: The Heart and Heartbreak of Boxing,” at http://bit.ly/fightingwordsamazon or internationally at http://bit.ly/fightingwordsworldwide. Send questions/comments via email at fightingwords1@gmail.com