Nico Ali Walsh Overcomes Major Adversity to Secure Crucial Victory on Saturday Night

The grandson of Muhammad Ali faced Sona Akale in a rematch of their six-round bout from last year, where Akale had emerged victorious in a major upset. This time, despite dislocating his shoulder in the final round, Ali Walsh claimed victory. Credit: ESPN

Akale had handed Ali Walsh his first career defeat, yet he encouraged Ali Walsh to pursue a rematch.

The grandson of “The Greatest” started the second fight strong, leveraging his reach to gain an early advantage.

In the third round, Ali Walsh even managed to score a knockdown, visibly hurting Akale.

However, Akale demonstrated remarkable resilience, coming back strong. In the fifth round, he shook Ali Walsh, almost knocking him off his feet at one point.

Ali Walsh weathered this storm, but the worst was yet to come.

At the beginning of the sixth and final round, Ali Walsh’s left shoulder popped out, prompting commentators to exclaim, “You can see the bone sticking out.”

Ali Walsh attempted to reset his shoulder while continuing to fight, but to no avail. Fortunately, Akale seemed to have expended much of his energy in the previous round, and the final bell rang.

Ali Walsh won by unanimous decision with scores of 58-55, 57-56, and 57-56.

“I don’t know what happened, I’ve never experienced anything like this,” Ali Walsh said post-fight, though he appeared more concerned with his opponent’s complaints about the decision.

“It popped out, but I survived and definitely beat him.

“I don’t know why he’s upset, he needs to calm down.

“If that happened to him, he would have cried like a baby, sat on the ground, and quit the fight.” It happened to the right person and I’m very grateful for this win.”