Left image via Associated Press // Right image via Twitter
Taking to the ring at the Hard Rock Hotel & Casino in Tulsa, to face MMA fighter-turned-boxer Jeremiah Yeager, 22-year-old Nico Ali Walsh has made a move that will further see parallels drawn between him and his grandfather, Muhammad Ali. Prior to winning by knockout in the second round, the young boxer recreated his legendary grandfather’s shuffle in a moment of showmanship that has caught the attention of boxing fans all over the world.
The knockout know puts him at 4-0, and represents a solid bounceback after what many pundits labelled an unconvincing majority-decision victory over Reyes Sanchez last month – a fight that was preceded by two knockout victories.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OlifwWO-NsY
In an interview following the fight, Ali Walsh claimed the move was spontaneous. “I didn’t plan [the Ali Shuffle],” he said. “It was emotional, of course. So much has been going on, but yeah, I didn’t plan on doing that. It’s just something that happened. I think the main thing was staying calm, which I did… Another thing was head movement and defence, which I felt like I did improve on. I fought last month. So if I can make those small improvements in this such a short amount of time, who’s telling what I can do in my next fight?”
Never thought I’d be doing the infamous shuffle in the ring… Alhamdullilah, 4-0 Thank you All for the support !!🙏🏼 pic.twitter.com/QDsZEthTHY
— Nico Ali Walsh (@NicoAliX74) January 30, 2022
Time will tell whether he’ll be reproducing the success of his grandfather in the ring, but it looks like he’s got the flair down pat: