Muhammad Ali’s grandson Nico Ali Walsh makes successful pro debut
Steward also trains heavyweight titleholder Tyson Fury.
“Step-by-step, play it by ear, watch his development and bring him along as fast as he’s able to go,” Trampler said. “I’ve seen him in the gym every day for a month. He’s learning. … It’s about building a relationship between the trainer and fighter and you can imagine the pressure on the fighter tonight.
“It was fun and he’s a terrific kid.”
Muhammad Ali’s daughter Laila Ali also was a professional boxer.
Nico Ali Walsh Steps Into The Ring For Boxing Debut
Middleweight prospect Nico Ali Walsh, grandson of “The Greatest,” Muhammad Ali, trains in Las Vegas with head coach Sugar Hill Steward earlier this month, ahead of his pro debut in Oklahoma.
Nico Ali Walsh, grandson of boxing legend Muhammad Ali, will make his professional fighting debut Saturday night in Tulsa, Okla. And though the 21-year-old is aware of the clout carried by his name, he says he is boxing for himself — not for fame, or a fighter’s purse.
Ali Walsh’s mother, Rasheda, is the daughter of one of the greatest boxers of all time. That said, there was no pressure for Ali Walsh to pick up his grandfather’s gloves, ESPN reported. His mother had suggested other sports instead — soccer or basketball, “like a normal kid,” she recalled. But Ali Walsh wouldn’t have it. So, seven years ago, he started training seriously.
Though it’s early in the middleweight’s career, it’s been a bumpy road for Ali Walsh. He’s won some fights, and he’s lost some, according to ESPN. But his grandfather, “Poppy” to Ali Walsh, told him that his amateur record doesn’t matter. And when the young fighter occasionally doubted himself, Poppy was there to encourage him to stay in the fight.
Now, he will square off with Jordan Weeks, 29, at the Hard Rock Hotel and Casino in a four-round special attraction fight. The main event, at 10 p.m. ET on ESPN, may be the third bout between Andrew Moloney and Joshua Franco III, but Ali Walsh’s premiere fight is already drawing buzz in the boxing community.
The promoter of the fight is Bob Arum, who promoted Ali for the first time in the boxer’s world heavyweight title fight against George Chuvalo in 1966. “It’s still surreal to me that more than 50 years after I began promoting The Greatest, his grandson [Ali Walsh] turns pro on our [Top Rank Boxing] show Saturday night,” Arum tweeted. “A true moment of pride for me.”
It’s still surreal to me that more than 50 years after I began promoting The Greatest, his grandson @NicoAliX74 turns pro on our @trboxing show Saturday night. A true moment of pride for me.
His four-round Middleweight debut will air on the ESPN #FrancoMoloney3 main card. pic.twitter.com/KIBc8bDBYC
— Bob Arum (@BobArum) August 12, 2021
Ali Walsh’s trainer, Sugar Hill Steward, trained two-time world heavyweight champion Tyson Fury. Steward sees promise in the “beginner” fighter. “He can fight,” he told ESPN.
“He’s not scared,” Steward said. “He’s not shy to get hit or thrown down. It’s just a matter of him learning to fight better.”
The legacy of the Ali name may weigh on the young fighter’s shoulders, but Ali Walsh doesn’t foresee the pressure posing a problem. He isn’t concerned about those who believe he is fighting for “name or fame” he said in a Top Rank promotional video. He said his boxing career is about proving something to himself and to his family.
He had a choice. And now it gets real, as @NicoAliX74 chases a feeling instead of fame. (via @MarkKriegel)
Nico Ali Walsh makes his pro debut Saturday night on ESPN. pic.twitter.com/SAobKVuSso
— Top Rank Boxing (@trboxing) August 13, 2021
“I feel like success doesn’t mean going 30-0, it doesn’t mean going 50-0, I think it’s a feeling,” he said. “At some point I’ll know that I felt like I continued this legacy right. At that point I’ll know that I’ve had a successful boxing career.”
Ali’s grandson wins in pro debut
Nico Ali Walsh made a successful pro debut Saturday night, winning in the first round and then paying homage to his grandfather, Muhammad Ali.
Wearing trunks made for his grandfather, Ali Walsh knocked down his outmatched opponent midway through the first round before the middleweight fight was finally stopped at 1:49 of the round with Ali Walsh landing unanswered punches to the head.
“It’s been an emotional journey, this whole ride,” Ali Walsh said. “Obviously, my grandfather, I’ve been thinking about him so much. I miss him.”
The fight between Ali Walsh, a 21-year-old college student, and Jordan Weeks was notable not because of anything the two had done in the ring, but because Ali Walsh was trying to follow in his grandfather’s large footsteps into boxing.
Still, Ali Walsh looked competent for a relative novice and displayed good hand speed and power against Weeks, an MMA fighter who had been stopped in his last boxing match.
Ali Walsh celebrated with family members in the ring afterward along with 89-year-old promoter Bob Arum, who promoted 27 of Muhammad Ali’s fights.
“I’m a believer in genes,” Arum said.
Ali Walsh said the white trunks with black lining were made for his grandfather, who gave them to him.
“I’m never wearing these trunks again,” he said.
Ready to make ‘Poppy’ proud: Nico Ali Walsh aims to build on Muhammad Ali’s legacy
Wearing a pair of white-and-black trunks his grandfather gifted to him, Muhammad Ali’s grandson, Nico Ali Walsh, made his pro boxing debut Saturday night with a first-round TKO of Jordan Weeks.
Ali Walsh, 21, displayed the kind of flair for the dramatic Ali would surely be proud of, whipping the Hard Rock Hotel & Casino crowd into a frenzy with his right hand as the referee administered a 10-count following the knockdown. The middleweight followed up with a barrage of punches, bloodying Weeks’ face, before the referee stopped the mismatch.
“I think me and him made a little bit of history tonight,” said Ali Walsh, who is trained by SugarHill Steward, the same man who guides heavyweight champion Tyson Fury.
“This lived up completely to my expectations,” he added. “It’s been an emotional journey. … Obviously my grandfather, I’ve been thinking of him so much. I miss him.”
“The Greatest” died in June 2016, just shy of Ali Walsh’s 16th birthday. Ali Walsh grew up in Las Vegas and embarked on an amateur boxing career, hoping to follow in the legendary heavyweight champion’s footsteps. Against Weeks, Ali Walsh was allowed to tee off.
Weeks, 29, from Lexington, South Carolina, was coming off a fourth-round TKO to a 1-6-1 fighter.
For Ali Walsh, who is competing at middleweight, it will clearly be a work-in-progress as a young boxer learning on the job. And there’s no one better at developing such fighters than Bob Arum’s Top Rank, the same promoter that once guided Ali.
“Step-by-step, play it by ear; watch his development and bring him along as fast as he’s able to go,” Top Rank matchmaker Bruce Trampler told ESPN. The Hall of Famer started working with Ali in the 80s.
“I’ve seen him in the gym every day for a month. He’s learning. He hasn’t fought in over two years. SugarHill has been away with Fury and some other fighters. … It’s about building a relationship between the trainer and fighter and you can imagine the pressure on the fighter tonight. It was fun and he’s a terrific kid.”
No matter whom Ali Walsh fights or what level he reaches, one thing is clear: People will be watching his rise. His bloodlines guarantee it.
“It seems like a lot of pressure; to me, it’s just my grandfather,” Ali Walsh said. “He’s the greatest fighter who ever lived — maybe the greatest person. … I’m never wearing these trunks again.”









