Latest news with #NicoAliWalsh
The Sun
4 days ago
- Sport
- The Sun
Muhammad Ali's grandson Nico eyes UK debut fight after being inspired by Chris Eubank Jr vs Conor Benn classic
NICO ALI WALSH is dreaming of fighting in the UK - having been left in awe at Chris Eubank Jr and Conor Benn's thriller. Eubank beat Benn in their middleweight grudge match at Tottenham after 12 brutally classic rounds. 3 The pair of nepo babies somehow managed to match the thriller their father's treated fans to 35 years ago. And it inspired Ali Walsh - grandson to boxing's Greatest Muhammad Ali - to live up to his iconic surname. He told SunSport: 'I love Eubank. He's an awesome dude and then the fight, I mean, just a quick side note, the fight that him and Conor Benn put on was absolutely amazing. 'They put it on for, not just boxing fans, but they put it on for the kids who come from legacy, the kids who come from backgrounds where their family has done something before them. They put it on for all of us. So yeah, that was amazing." Eubank fell out with his eccentric dad Chris Sr after trying to walk his own path in the sport. But the two emotionally reconciled on the night of his fight with Benn - which helped inspire the iconic victory. Eubank Sr never wanted his son to follow in his footsteps - and infamously banned him until Lennox Lewis helped convince him otherwise. Reality TV cameras captured the moment Lewis talked Eubank Sr into allowing his 13-year-old son to box - paving the way for Jr's career. Ali Walsh had a similar fight on his hands with his parents - and revealed it was his grandad who helped get him the green light. He said: "My situation was a lot like that where I was trying to convince my parents. "My grandfather was on board 100 per cent from the start, but I was trying to convince my parents to get on board.' Ali Walsh is now 15 fights into his career since turning professional in 2021, winning 12 times, losing twice with one no-contest. As an amateur, he had 30 bouts and tried to keep his surname a secret until Mike Tyson showed up to one of his fights and blew his cover. Ali Walsh returned with victory in Guinea against Ebenezer Sowah in May after a shock loss to Juan Carlos Guerra Jr in February. The middleweight has twice fought in Africa - 50 years after his grandfather's famous Rumble in The Jungle win against George Foreman in Congo. Ali fought all around the world, including England and now Ali Walsh is desperate to do the same. He said: 'Let me tell you something, if I fight in the UK, if I get told that I'm fighting in the UK, that would change my life. 'That's the one place on earth I've always wanted to fight. Seriously, London or anywhere in the UK. 'The boxing fans in the UK are better than anywhere on Earth. They're better than here in Vegas and Vegas is the capital of the world for boxing but I would love to fight there.' 3
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
