Boxing is a game of hit and don’t get hit…and also waiting.

It can be the hardest part for proud and hungry warriors who seeks chances to show the world what they know in their heart: That they are the best, the brightest, the fiercest.

Sadam Ali wants a crack at the WBO’s 147-pound crown. That strap sits on Timothy Bradleys’ mantle…but will it stay there?

We must wait to find out.

The WBO has told Bradley and the man he will presumably fight on Nov. 7, Brandon Rios, that they will not sanction that bout as a title fight. Not because it isn’t a good fight but because Ali has been waiting patiently as that No. 1 contender for a long enough spell. He should get his crack, they said. Bradley, like Rios, is promoted by Top Rank Promotions but hasn’t publicly responded.

Rated No. 9 at welterweight by THE RING, Ali told me he is thankful to the WBO for showing some backbone and reiterated, yet again, that he does not seek and will not accept “step-aside” money to pave the way to make Bradley-Rios a title crack.

Ali is promoted by Golden Boy Promotions; I asked their exec Eric Gomez if he could shed any light. He didn’t wish to comment and told me all parties are working on a solution to the situation.

Boxing, a sport in which “Hurry up and wait” is a mindset you’d best get used to if you rise to a certain station. There is no league office crafting the schedule, so you get parties with competing interests attempting to get on the same page. Not such an easy task. So Ali waits…and waits some more.

You don’t have to wait to follow Woods on the Twitter.