By Keith Idec

NEW YORK – Sadam Ali realizes Jaime Munguia is dangerous.

His opponent’s questionable level of opposition aside, the 21-year-old contender has displayed noteworthy power while amassing a 28-0 record that includes 24 knockouts.

Brooklyn’s Ali (26-1, 14 KOs), a natural welterweight who’s more boxer than puncher, understands it’ll require going about his business in an intelligent manner to beat the rugged Munguia on Saturday night in Verona, New York.

The 29-year-old Ali also trusts that his experience against more proven opponents has prepared him to fend off the young, stronger challenger in his first defense of the WBO super welterweight title.

“He has good fight in him,” Ali said during a press event this week in Manhattan. “He has power. Out of his 28 fights, he has 24 knockouts. So he’s definitely a dangerous fighter. I wouldn’t wanna discredit him because of his opponents. Yes, he hasn’t been in there with great opponents. But that doesn’t really, necessarily mean that he doesn’t have the skill to be great.

“I just know that I’m on another level. I just know that I have to fight smart. Maybe he thinks he can just walk over me. Possibly, I don’t know. I don’t know what he thinks, but come Saturday everything is gonna come to light.”

Ali will defend the WBO 154-pound championship he won by upsetting Miguel Cotto on December 2 at Madison Square Garden. Cotto was approximately a 10-1 favorite over Ali entering that 12-round title bout, but Ali out-boxed the Puerto Rican legend to win a unanimous decision and record the biggest victory of his nine-year pro career.

Detractors have downplayed Ali’s win against Cotto (41-6, 33 KOs) because Cotto is 37. Cotto retired following that defeat to Ali, who moved up from 147 pounds for the opportunity to face the former four-division champion.

Ali, a 2008 Olympian, was supposed to encounter England’s Liam Smith on Saturday night. Smith, a former WBO super welterweight champ and Ali’s mandatory challenger, withdrew from their fight two weeks ago due to a skin condition that prevented him from training.

The Ali-Munguia match will headline HBO’s “World Championship Boxing” doubleheader from Turning Stone Resort & Casino. The telecast is set to start at 10 p.m. ET with a 12-round battle between WBC super bantamweight champ Rey Vargas (31-0, 22 KOs) and Azat Hovhannisyan (14-2, 11 KOs).

Keith Idec is a senior writer/columnist for BoxingScene.com. He can be reached on Twitter @Idecboxing.