Ali was nostalgic, reveals grandson

NEW YORK. - Nico Ali Walsh has revealed his grandad Muhammad Ali used to constantly rewatch his old fights with a twinkle in his eye.

Boxing legend Ali, died in 2016 aged 74 but grandson Walsh has continued the family legacy in the ring.

The 21-year-old boasts a 5-0 record since becoming professional and he likely picked up a thing or two by repeatedly watching Ali’s fights with the man himself.

Walsh shared that his favourite Ali fight was Rumble in the Jungle - the 1974 clash when Ali knocked out George Foreman in the eighth round.

Ali’s eyes used to light up watching his old conquests, Walsh revealed to SunSport.

He said: “The main fights we would watch would be of his fights. When we weren’t watching him on TV, we would watch on my phone my sparring clips and me training.

“If I had to pick a fight of his we would normally watch Rumble in the Jungle because this is my favourite fight of his. It was fun watching this with him and to see his reaction. I mean, he always reacted when we watched it.

“I always watch his fights. It’s hard to replicate him because he’s so different so I don’t try to replicate him but I definitely watch them they’re very entertaining.

“It brings me back to the memories when I was a kid watching with him. I remember his eyes would light up, when he saw himself.

“That was one of the best things when I watched his fights with him seeing his reactions, how he would react to hitting his opponent, or his opponent hitting him. It was overall fun to see what he thought about his own fights.”

As well as watching Walsh’s training videos, Ali would actively encourage his grandson to pursue a boxing career.

Walsh explains how Ali’s backing was enough for him to commit to boxing full-time and it is paying off, with Tyson Fury’s coach Sugar Hill Stewart now training the youngster.

He made his Las Vegas debut earlier this month and marked the occasion with an explosive one-punch knockout to defeat Alejandro Ibarra within two minutes.

Asked if Ali supported him getting into boxing, Walsh replied: “Yeah, you know what, I was expecting him to not want me to become a boxer. I was expecting that.

“I was actually hoping that he said this because boxing was going to be a long journey if I did decide to pursue it.

“So, I was looking for him to say, no, you shouldn’t box. When I asked him and surprisingly he was the main person to push me towards boxing.

“He kept pushing me towards it, and that’s how he felt about it and it is one of the reasons that I’m so passionate about it today is because it was what he wanted me to do, what he told me I should do.”