Many fans might have had a sense of déjà vu. Though not up to that level or scale, Nico Ali Walsh might have stepped into his grandfather’s footprints when he scored a win in a rematch after suffering his first career loss. Last weekend at Miami’s James L.

Knight Center, he defeated Sona Akale in a six-round fight. It was one of the undercards in Teofimo Lopez‘s title defense against Steven Claggett.

The fight wasn’t free of controversy. During the fight, Ali Walsh reportedly dislocated his shoulder. But he continued to fight and ended up exacting his revenge against the Minnesota-born ‘Slink Proper’. Then, amidst boos, he explained how things went for him. He stood for chasing a legacy instead of going after money. He revealed declining the Jake Paul fight offer only to enter into a further online banter with ‘The Problem Child’, which further drew much attention. In a fresh tweet, however, Muhammad Ali‘s grandson tried to set the record straight about how he fought with his injury.

So the 23-year-old Chicago-born middleweight revealed that his shoulder injury occurred during the fourth round of the Sona Akale fight. However, instead of pulling out, he continued fighting. Hence, during the fifth and sixth rounds, Nico Ali Walsh tried to ensure nobody could tell what had happened to him. He continued to rely heavily on his right hand.

He won the match by a unanimous decision and thanked the Almighty since his injuries didn’t aggravate further. Soon after the fight, in fact, Ali Walsh shared a short video. It showed him being attended to by a team of physicians. They were seemingly checking his left shoulder’s dislocation and trying to set it back. Expressing his gratitude to the team, he said, “Thank you to the docs for dealing with me and relocating my shoulder.”

It was on August 26 last year that Muhammad Ali’s grandson, who made his pro debut in 2022, suffered his first loss. Hence, going back to Akale seemed like a natural solution. Nico Ali Walsh went back to his winning ways and won the subsequent two bouts. It was time for the ‘Slink Proper’ rematch.

via Getty

Starting on a high note, ‘The Legend Lives On’ turned the tables on Sona Akale in the third round. Wading through a brawl, the former found himself on the ropes. But he managed to push Akale back to the center. With barely seven minutes for the round to end, a neat combination saw him throw a left hook that connected effectively and threw the Minnesota-born boxer down to the canvas.

Boxing through injury to the final bell

But ‘Slink Proper’ charged back into the fight and pressed Ali’s grandson on the backfoot. By that time, as he stated in the latest post, the injury had occurred. Then, for the remaining rounds, he fought on the defensive. Preventing perhaps another potential rout? Watching Nico Ali Walsh try to relocate his shoulder, one of the commentators said, “I saw that jump. I didn’t know that. I thought he was just trying to energize himself, not realizing that he was trying to pop that dislocated shoulder back into place. What drama here in the last round!”

Muhammad Ali’s grandson received a lot of jeers and shout-downs during the post-fight in-ring interview. When asked whether the fans could expect a trilogy fight with Sona Akale, Nico Ali Walsh replied, “I feel like I beat him twice now, but if this fight didn’t prove it, I will fight absolutely anyone.”

Notwithstanding what he said and the amount of criticism he received, there’s no point in denying that ‘The Legend Lives On’ has proved that he is not short on courage. He can stay put and fight till the last bell comes, no matter what. That should catch the attention of the boxing powers. They might be looking at a fighter who has what it takes to play in the big league and poses a serious threat to some of the biggest names. After all, as he himself stated, he’s in the game not for money but to chase the legacy. So give the man what he wants.

What’s your take on Nico Ali’s fight with Sona Akale? Do you think there should be a rubber match since the score is 1-1 now?