Low body fat is the biggest part of having abs . Everyone comes in the gym and does abs like crazy and struggles. You can do abs all day , it will get you a strong core but until your BF % is under 15 they won’t show too much. Also no working out abs doesn’t burn fat in your core . Spot burning fat is not a thing . You can do core all day and not burn a single bit of fat from your core. Believe it or not I rarely do abs , it’s rare that I dedicate time to doing core . It gets worked like hell doing my main compound lifts ( deadlifts , squat , even bench and cleans ).
In short speak slim down first , work em some as well . But really slim down first . For reference my body fat is around 13% rn. You could ask me anything I’m a personal trainer of 3 years with nutrition courses from school under my belt !