โIT depended on the day. His condition โ some days heโd be able to talk clear as day. Some days he wouldnโt be able to at all. No matter what, it didnโt take away his emotion โ his laughter; humour; his smile. On the days he was able to talk I took advantage โ I asked him a million questions. Boxing; life; stupid stuff. We had fun; it was never serious.
โWe had a method of communication. When he was having a bad day when he couldnโt speak, he would squeeze my hand for yes, or wouldnโt squeeze for no. That was our thing. Iโm sure other people in the family had their own thing, but that was my thing.
โHe was my only living grandfather. We were very tight. When he was in his 60s, had Parkinsonโs and was an old man, he still hit the bag. He still hit the speed bag; he was still in the gym. Boxing was his love. I remember those days.
โI was 12 [when I started finding out who he was]. It was really late. Even now I donโt think I see it as well as other people do โ heโs always been my grandfather first.โ
There is perhaps no heavier legacy to bear in boxing than that that comes with the name Ali, yet at 21 โ nine years after starting to appreciate what his grandfather continues to mean to the world, and having also since attempted to distance himself from it โ Nico Ali Walsh believes he has finally found his calling.
It took his fifth victory from five as a professional, via an explosive right hand that stopped Alejandro Ibarra in the first round at Las Vegasโ MGM Grand Garden Arena โ where fittingly he had previously spent hours with his grandfather, the peerless Muhammad Ali โ for him to come to that conclusion. Much like Ali would have done, however, Ali Walsh also increasingly recognises his gradual transformation as the most necessary part of a spiritual journey.
โI was 15 โ I started taking boxing serious at 14 โ and wanted to quit,โ he continues, to Boxing News. โI had a moment when I was alone with him and I was like, โI want to quit boxingโ; he watched all my sparring tapes; my gym footage; all that. But I wanted him to tell me to stop boxing so that I could get his blessing, and he wouldnโt give it to me. He said โKeep boxingโ. That gave me more confidence. โI canโt quit now.โ I havenโt taken a break since then.
โSome conversations would take place over FaceTime. Some over in Scottsdale, Arizona. Some here in Vegas. This particular conversation was after my brotherโs football game in Reno โ me and him were alone in the car. โYou gotta keep boxing.โ
โI think about that all the time, and about why I started. โDonโt forget why you started.โ When I remember that, quittingโs never an option.
โI felt a glimpse of it after my first fight, but [beating Ibarra] made it real clear [that itโs my destiny to box]. I felt I was given extraordinary power [mental, and boxing ability] โ where does this come from? As an amateur I was so frightened by the lights; the crowd; everything. The minute I turned pro, it just disappeared.
โI was very nervous before my first [professional] fight because I thought Iโd get those feelings again. But I was just given this ability from the great beyond, or something, where I have zero fear walking to the ring โ because Iโm doing it for something thatโs bigger than boxing.
โI was always fascinated with how every success [my grandfather] had in life he attributed it to God, and a higher power. I was like โWhyโs he always doing that? Maybe thereโs something to itโ. Thatโs where Iโm at now.
โMy grandfather, aside from boxing, had a bigger purpose. Everyone says theyโre born for something, and it may sound dramatic, but I believe that โ that certain people are born for certain things, and now Iโm starting to realise what I was born for. Continuing what he left.
โI couldnโt care less about [fame and money] โ maybe to a fault, at times. I really do think itโs a feeling โ thereโs things left for me to do in boxing and in the world as a whole, and Iโll know when itโs my time to leave boxing.
โWhen heโd come to Vegas heโd stay at the MGM, which is why when I fought there it was special. The last time I was in that arena was back in 2012, with my grandfather. We were hanging out that whole night, and then it went from that platform โ of just hanging out with him for his birthday โ to a ring 10 years later where Iโm winning with a sensational knockout. Thatโs why that fight, and the win in particular, was so special. I was at the MGM with my grandfather every single time he came to Vegas.
โHe would have been in the front row [if he was still alive]. Every time I put on gloves, every time Iโm in a boxing gym, I think about him, because itโs impossible not to. I wouldnโt be doing it if it werenโt for him.
โThatโs why every fight I have, itโs not just a fight, itโs so emotional for me and my family. If you could see the way my mum and her twin react on camera โ every time theyโre crying. Itโs not because of me โ itโs because theyโre seeing their dad come out with the chants of โAliโ. It brings back memories to them, so thatโs why theyโre always crying at every single fight.โ
It is not just in his grandfatherโs and his career today โ he is yet to draw specific conclusions regarding the greater purpose behind his own existence โ that Ali Walsh sees significance and serendipity. Saul โCaneloโ Alvarez, he believes, inspires an entire nation; Tyson Fury, one of Aliโs successors as the planetโs leading heavyweight, can touch the whole world.
โSome boxers are born for boxing, and some boxers are born to box and do something else with it,โ he explains. โMy grandfatherโs a perfect example. Tyson Furyโs a perfect example. If he wasnโt great at boxing, he would still be that great guy on the inside but he wouldnโt have that platform to change those lives.
โThink about all of the millions of lives Tyson Fury probably changed or saved, just because of his boxing ability. If he was born 30 years ago it wouldnโt be the same โ right now thatโs [mental health] a struggle. Just like back in the day when my grandfather came around, it was a struggle with civil rights. People are born at certain times, and I donโt think itโs a coincidence.
โI was at Fury-Wilder III, and I was scared. I was nervous. I didnโt want him to get hurt, but for some reason I knew he would win. Who gets up from a Deontay Wilder right hand? Nobody on earth. It doesnโt make any sense. Wilder beats any other heavyweight in the world. That stuff you canโt explain.โ
Fury himself had once said that his remarkable recovery from a 12th-round knockdown by Deontay Wilder in their first fight in 2018 came from having โa holy hand upon meโ, but unlike Ali Walsh he had always been the most natural of fighters โ one not only willing to embrace the weight of history and the grandest stage that comes with it, but as composed under the most intense pressure against the most dangerous of opponents as he is behind closed doors.
Ali Walsh not only once fought debilitating nerves as an amateur, he also attempted to hide his heritage by fighting under the name Nico Walsh. Markedly more challenging to obscure, regardless, is the extent to which he is his grandfatherโs grandson.
Beyond the spiritual awareness, sense of purpose and natural athleticism, there is an obvious sense of humanity and loyalty; there is even an appreciation for magic he independently discovered as a child, before Ali had had a chance to pass his on.
โI have special relationships with certain people,โ says Ali Walsh, who after graduating from the University of Nevada, Las Vegas, where he studied business entrepreneurship, next plans to move out of the family home in the same city. โ[My grandfather] was absolutely one of them; another is my great grandmother, whoโs still around today. I donโt know why โ you donโt pick these relationships.
โI would listen to him when he spoke about life, and he believed everyone was judged based on what they do in this life, and that this life is a test. Thatโs what my mum says all the time. โYou gotta treat everyone equally; you gotta be a good person.โ He made it sound a lot more serious, and a lot more impactful. He was a poet. I always listened to him.
โThat, I truly believe, is hereditary โ that care for others. Sometimes people take my kindness for weakness, and I struggled with that as a kid โ Iโve always cared for life. Thatโs a family quality. I just cared about people. Even though Iโve always been an introvert outside of boxing, Iโve always cared about people.
โHeโs one of the most recognisable people ever, and Iโm starting to understand that, but he treated everyone like they were a friend. Every single person, whether it was a homeless guy on the street or, literally, the pope, he treated the same. So if someone at that level can treat everyone the same, who am I to treat anyone different?โ
Aliโs humanity โ his warmth and enthusiasm for others, and his desire to trust โ regardless led to his exploitation. It is often reflected that the biggest tragedy of his career were the struggles with Parkinsonโs disease that undermined his extraordinary charisma and quality of life, but Ali Walsh is unconvinced boxing caused it, and is instead concerned only with avoiding the same mistreatment. It is also for that reason that his fourth and fifth fights were overseen by the cornerman-come-artist Richard Slone, a protege of none other than the great Joe Frazier โ more significantly, Aliโs greatest rival.
โ[My grandfather] was very caring and almost frivolous about money, because he just didnโt care, so a lot of people took advantage of him,โ he says. โA lot of people took advantage of his kindness, and boxingโs a dirty business, as anyone knows. My mum [Rasheda] saw it all happen to her dad. Iโve known since I was a little kid about the Don King situation, and all that mess.
โMy mum studies Parkinsonโs and all those neuro conditions. My mum talks about that around the world. My grandfatherโs brother had Parkinsonโs โ he didnโt box. My great-grandfather on my other side of the family had Parkinsonโs โ he didnโt box. People get Parkinsonโs and they donโt understand how or why.
โBoxing, Iโm sure, did not help, but anytime someone would say to my grandfather, โYou got Parkinsonโs from boxingโ, he would say โName me another boxer with Parkinsonโsโ, and no one was ever able to. We donโt know how people got Parkinsonโs or where it came from, and it was a fear of mine, but Iโve decided I canโt live in fear. Thereโs a million boxers over history โ how many of them got Parkinsonโs?
โMy mum didnโt want me getting hit for a living. I donโt know if itโs because of Parkinsonโs or mainly because she didnโt want to see her son getting hit, but it never deterred me
โ[Ali-Frazier] was probably the best sports rivalry ever โ or one of them, at least. But what it came down to is admiration, more than anything. He would absolutely love [that Iโm learning from Slone]. I donโt think my grandfather loved another fighter more than he loved Joe Frazier; he would be over the moon about it.
“Richard gave me a left glove that belonged to Joe, and I use it in training now, and I just try to channel the greatsโ energy. Itโs a cool story because they were rivals, but at the end of the day there were like best friends. I said, โRich, you gotta frame this thingโ, but he was like, โNo, just wear itโ. It looks old.
โIโd have loved Frazier as a fighter. Absolutely fearless. Heโs one of those greats because of that โ because of that fearless quality that he had.
โIโm just drawn to Rich. I donโt know why. We talk about [Frazier] all the time. They were very close. He says Joe would be very happy with where Iโm at, which is great to hear. Itโs very motivating โ I look up to him. He trains me the same way that Joe trained, which is special.
โItโs like a calling. I donโt know what it is โ I think itโs grandfather-related. I think itโs building off his legacy. Not going the same path as him, but adding to it. I donโt know fully my purpose yet, but I will.
โThereโs a quote. โThe two most important days in someoneโs life is, one, the day you were born, and two, the day you find out why.โ When my grandfather found out why he was born โ he knew at a young age โ thatโs when he just soared. I havenโt found out why yet, but once I do Iโll be soaring.โ