He claims to have heard from other athletes about tortures committed against them by Hussein and his son Uday, but he himself was never hurt by them.

After the United States invasion of Iraq in 2003, Ali met with Maurice Watkins, a former professional world title challenger who had been assigned by the American government to train Iraq's Olympic boxing team.

After securing their Olympic spot, Ali and Watkins moved to New York, where they began to train at the legendary Gleason's Gym.

Their story was subsequently shown at many United States outlets, including CNN.

He competed in the light flyweight weight class (the lightest, for all boxers under 48 kilograms), winning his first bout vs a North Korean by a healthy margin of 21–7.