If boxing could not escape the legacy of Muhammad Ali, how would his grandson? It’s been almost 8 years since the ‘Greatest of all times’ passed away. He left massive shoes for anyone from the Ali family to fill. His daughter, Laila Ali, did it to a great extent. Following her retirement in 2007, the torch was handed to the third generation—Ali’s grandchildren. Nico Ali Walsh, the son of Ali’s daughter, Rashida Ali, currently finds himself at a crossroads. While he has made a name for himself in the sport, he continues to tread in the formidable shadow of his grandfather, the ‘Greatest’.

23-year-old, Nico Ali Walsh, has managed to carve his own niche within boxing. In October last year, Nico recorded his career’s first loss after being defeated by Sona Akale. That fight noted as his hardest in his nascent career, gave the boxing world a reality check. Nico comes with the Ali name, but he is not Ali. So, perhaps it was time that the world saw him for the rising boxer that he is and not an incarnation of Ali himself. It is a pressure that he’s had to deal with since his first stint in the ring.

Nico Ali Walsh, a boxer from a boxing family

Nico calls Las Vegas home, the boxing capital of the world today. He did not grow up anticipating a career in the ring. However, being part of a family once synonymous with the sport, he developed an affinity for boxing. He had Ali, his granddad, his aunt, Laila, a pro boxer with an undefeated career of 24 fights, and an uncle, Mike Joyce, the founder of the Chicago Boxing Club.

In 2021, when he landed his debut against Jordan Weeks, one was hardly shocked to find that it was a mammoth event, under the coveted ESPN banner. A very short-spanned run in the amateur ranks led Nico to turn pro. His uncle Mike Joyce stepped in as his manager. His promoter? Top Rank Boxing, headed by Bob Arum. The promoter’s first event to be promoted in 1966 was Muhammad Ali’s title defense against George Chuvalo. 55 years later, embracing the full circle moment, Arum noted to The New York Times, “Promoting Ali’s grandson would be the last thing I would have thought about.” But here he was, still strong in the business, being a part of this legacy story that Nico was headlining.

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The Ali Legacy

Speaking about how he accepted the Ali legacy as his destiny, a debutante, Nico remarked in an interview, “I’m starting to embrace it. It’s very hard to do, but you have to embrace the legacy, no matter what it is. Everybody becomes stronger when they embrace what they’re destined to do.”

When it came to arranging fights for his nephew, Joyce explained that securing easier opponents for Nico, in the beginning, would be beneficial. This strategy aimed to boost his morale and prepare him for tougher challenges against more experienced opponents in the future. However, having Ali’s name attached to him, and already being a known face, he had to give him the big fights. Hence, his debut was against Weeks, a fighter with an established 4-1 career.

What Ali taught him…

Ahead of his Sona Akale fight, which most believed would be rough terrain for Nico, he spoke vividly about what it meant to fight with the Ali name in his record. “I was born for this,” Walsh told PEOPLE. “I feel like it was my calling — my destiny — and I feel like I want to take the same path he did, where I’m boxing not just because I love it but I’m using it as a platform to change people’s lives and be just like him.” 

He remembers the times he spent talking about the sport with his grandfather, who in 21 years of career fought 61 times, losing only 5. The majority of his career was marked with solid wins. However, in later stages, he encountered terrible losses, soon showing signs of brain damage. In 1984, Ali was diagnosed with Parkinson’s disease, marking a gradual closure to his career. He died in 2016, succumbing to a septic shock.

“Every time I was with him, I was watching his fights with him. Like, I would pull it up on YouTube on my phone and we’d watch his fights, and then we’d work on my sparring. I got so many tips from him,” said Nico. A few months after the interview, he lost to Akale after having won 8 fights, and 5 through knockouts in a mere span of three years since his first fight.

Muhammad Ali’s Grandson Pens Down a Bold Message for His Haters: “I’m Coming”

In December, he redeemed himself from the loss. At the WBA KO Drug card in Palais Du Peuple in Conakry, Guinea, Nico defeated French fighter Noel Lafargue through a unanimous decision. In the signature approach, he imbibed his grandfather’s speed and technical work, coupling it with Tyson-esque tenacity. It was his moment to emerge from the shadows of Muhammad Ali and emerge he did.

What do you think of Nico Ali Walsh’s boxing journey? Let us know in the comments section below.

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