Latest news with #LailaAli
The Sun
4 days ago
- Entertainment
- The Sun
I'm related to the greatest boxer ever but changed my name to make my own way – it worked until Mike Tyson showed up
NICO ALI WALSH has the most famous surname in boxing history but he kept it a secret - until Mike Tyson blew his cover. The 24-year-old is the grandson of Muhammad Ali - affectionately known as The Greatest. 8 Nico's parents - including Ali's daughter Rasheda whose sister Laila was a champion boxer - never wanted him to enter the family business. But by 14, Ali Walsh - with the help of his grandfather - convinced his family to allow him to start boxing. It came with just one condition though, he had to hide his iconic Ali surname. Ali Walsh told SunSport: 'Of course, I left out the name. Even back when I was 15 years old, my full name is Nico Ali Walsh, but I cut out the Ali. 'I said my name is Nico Walsh, but they found out somehow. My parents were not on board with saying Ali either. "I don't know how, they would just start announcing it at amateur fights. So it didn't last long. The incognito version of myself didn't last very long.' It turns out boxing great Tyson - a close friend of hero Ali's - might have played a part in Nico's secret being exposed. He revealed: 'It probably started around my third amateur fight because I started having weird people show up to my fights. 'Like my third amateur fight was here in Vegas and Mike Tyson found out I was fighting and he and his wife Kiki texted my mum and was like, 'Hey, we heard Nico's fighting here. Mike wants to come to the fight.' 'So Mike ended up coming to my amateur fight and it was just him, whoever he was with, and then my family. Three-weight world champion Vasily Lomachenko retires after more than 400 FIGHTS in lengthy video 'So there was like 7/8 people in the crowd, and it was just us, so I guess people may have started realising it. 'I started having weird people show up to my fights. Why is Mike Tyson showing up to this guy's amateur fight? And he left right after. 'So that may have contributed to people finding out.' With Ali Walsh's name was no longer secret, he had close to 30 amateur bouts before turning professional in 2021. And he did so with legendary promoter Bob Arum, who staged some of Ali's most iconic fights. By now, Ali Walsh is no stranger to rivals looking to make a name for themselves by trying to tear down his namesake - even behind closed doors. 8 8 He said: 'Sparring and training, it's never 100 per cent of the time. 'Sparring is where you work on things and you do certain things, but whenever I go outside of someone that I directly know, they're trying to knock me out in sparring. 'Everyone who spars me is trying to knock me out. So it's very annoying, but I've gotten that my entire professional career. 'I had that sometimes in my amateur career but now it's like people are coming at me trying to absolutely take my head off in the gym. 'And they do it in fights too, which fights are different. I don't care what you do in a fight, but in the gym, it gets ridiculous at some points.' Ali Walsh is now 15 fights into his pro career, with 12 wins, two losses and one no-contest. 8 8 He bounced back with victory against Ebenezer Sowah in Guinea in May following shock defeat to Juan Carlos Guerra Jr last February. And Ali Walsh has stayed true to his roots by refusing to entertain cash-grab fights against the likes of Jake Paul. The middleweight prospect even turned down a $3million (£2.2m) offer to fight the 11-1 YouTuber-turned-boxer last year. Ali Walsh explained: 'I can't be mad at these pro guys that are calling him out, they want the money. 'And obviously, the money they would be getting, they would be getting paid millions to knock out a guy that's way below the skill level of the guy that they get paid far less to fight. 'So it makes sense for these guys, but for me in particular, that's not something I want to be remembered by. 'It would really be just tainting my legacy to be getting involved with something like that. 'I feel like whenever people try to tell me, 'Nico, you should have done this or you should have done that.' No one can tell me what to do with the Ali name except for an Ali. 'So nobody outside of my family will understand what I'm talking about. So I don't take advice from anyone else, who tries to come at me with that kind of stuff.' 8 8
Yahoo
28-04-2025
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
Off the Grid: Sally breaks down USA TODAY's daily crossword, No Nonsense (Freestyle)
There are spoilers ahead. You might want to solve today's puzzle before reading further! No Nonsense (Freestyle) Constructor: Dena R. Verkuil Editor: Amanda Rafkin AMEX (14A: MC alternative) We occasionally see MC as a shortened version of "emcee," which had me headed down the wrong path at first. Here MC is an abbreviation for Mastercard, which is an American Express, or AMEX, alternative. ALBUM (15A: "Help!" or "Nevermind") Help! is a 1965 ALBUM by the Beatles. Nevermind is a 1991 ALBUM by Nirvana. This is a fun clue. At first I was wondering if the answer was something like "plea" or "request" (neither of which fit...). TLDR (16A: "Here's a summary" initials) TL;DR = too long; didn't read ERS (20A: "The Pitt" and "St. Denis Medical" settings) The Pitt is a TV series that premiered in January of this year. Set in the ER of the fictional Pittsburgh Trauma Medical Hospital, it stars Noah Wyle as Dr. Michael "Robby" Robinavitch. The entire season of the show covers one 15-hour work shift, with each episode covering approximately one hour. St. Denis Medical is a mockumentary TV series that premiered in November 2024. The series is set in an Oregon hospital. Both of these shows have been renewed for a second season. SNARK (22A: Commentary accompanied by an eyeroll) Mention of an eyeroll reminds me of a SNARK-filled comment my daughter once made to me when she was a teenager. In response to something I said, my daughter replied, "I just rolled my eyes to Minnesota (we live in Iowa)." I laughed, of course. NOHO (30A: NYC or L.A. neighborhood) NOHO is a primarily residential neighborhood in Lower Manhattan, New York City. NOHO got its name from the neighborhood being "North of Houston Street." In Los Angeles, California, the NOHO Arts District is known for its theaters, art galleries, cafes, and shops. The L.A. community takes its name from its location in "North Hollywood." DRE (37A: Name hidden in "speed reader") Discovering DRE in "speed reader" is a fun find. This clue made me curious about what phrase my name is hidden in, and I discovered that Sally is hidden in "Love is all you need." SPECIES (40A: Taxonomic category) SPECIES is one level, or taxonomic category, in the classification of living organisms. SPECIES is a rank below genus. Animals are often identified using their genus and SPECIES names. For example, the scientific name of human beings is Homo sapiens. Homo is the genus, and sapiens is the SPECIES. KOS (46A: Stat for Laila Ali) Laila Ali retired from an eight-year undefeated professional boxing career in 2007. During her boxing career, 21 of her 24 fights were won by KOS (knockouts). NEVADA (51A: Driest state in the United States) The average annual rainfall in NEVADA is approximately 7 inches. Some areas of NEVADA get around 40 inches of rainfall a year, which lets you know that some areas of the state do not receive much rain at all. The Mojave Desert covers the southern third of NEVADA. E-GIRL (62A: Emo-inspired Gen-Z aesthetic) The E-GIRL (and e-boy) aesthetic emerged in the late 2010s, and was popularized by TikTok. The look of this emo-inspired fashion subculture may include baggy clothes, neon-colored hair, nail polish, and decorative chains. AUNT (65A: Gayle, to Tina, Gene and Louise in "Bob's Burgers") Bob's Burgers is an animated sitcom centered on Bob and Linda Belcher and their children – Tina, Gene, and Louise. As the name of the show suggests, the Belchers own a burger restaurant. Gayle is Linda's sister, which makes her Tina, Gene, and Louise's AUNT. MOATS (69A: Features of Angkor Wat and Leeds Castle) Angkor Wat, located in Cambodia, is a complex that was originally constructed as a Hindu temple for the Khmer Empire in the early 12th century. It was gradually transformed into a Buddhist temple towards the end of the century. Leeds Castle is located in Kent England. It was constructed in 857, and was renovated in 1278. As the clue informs us, both Angkor Wat and Leeds Castle have MOATS. OMEN (9D: It's a sign!) The exclamation point in this clue is a signal to solvers to interpret this clue literally. An OMEN is literally a sign. OHIO (25D: Rock & Roll Hall of Fame's state) The Rock & Roll Hall of Fame is in Cleveland, OHIO. It's located on Lake Erie, and the building was designed by I. M. Pei, meaning there are multiple crossword clue angles associated with the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame. NACHOS (30D: Cheesy dish named for its inventor, Ignacio Anaya) Ignacio Anaya (1895-1975), whose nickname was Nacho, was the maître d' at a restaurant in Mexico when he invented NACHOS, the Tex-Mex dish that has become so popular it has even been honored with a Google Doodle. SAKE (38D: Omakase drink) Omakase is a Japanese phrase that means "I leave it up to you." Ordering omakase at a Japanese restaurant means leaving the selection of food (often sushi) up to the chef. Omakase meals may be accompanied by SAKE, a Japanese rice wine. Sometimes different types of SAKE will be paired with different sushi offerings. EARTH (50D: April 22 honoree) Since April 22 was just six days ago, hopefully it was in your mind that EARTH is the honoree referenced here. EARTH Day was first observed on April 22, 1970. EARTH Day has grown into an observance celebrated in more than 193 countries. The theme for EARTH Day 2025 was Our Power, Our Planet. EGGO (55D: "Stranger Things" waffle brand) Stranger Things is a Netflix TV series about a small town dealing with a hostile alternate dimension. Millie Bobby Brown portrays Eleven, a young girl with psychokinetic abilities who is known, among other things, for her fondness of EGGO waffles. Several other clues I especially enjoyed: BINGO (5A: "You hit the nail on the head!") VOTE (17A: Exercise a civic duty) HASTE (53A: Proverbial tastemaker) STARR (10D: Apt surname for an astronomer) NO NONSENSE (Freestyle): There's no theme today, as this is a freestyle, or themeless, puzzle. The title is a nod to ALL KIDDING ASIDE (11D: "Seriously now"). Okay, LET'S DO THIS THING (3D: "It's go time!")! I'LL GO FIRST (6D: "Let me start"). I enjoyed the conversational phrases in this puzzle. Thank you, Dena, for this excellent puzzle. USA TODAY's Daily Crossword Puzzles Sudoku & Crossword Puzzle Answers This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Crossword Blog & Answers for April 28, 2025 by Sally Hoelscher
