In his two professional bouts thus far, Nico Ali Walsh has shown that he shares a similar winning mentality as his late grandfather, the great Muhammad Ali. Nico won his first fight in the first round and had to wait until the third round to secure his victory against James Westley II.
Westley’s team threw in the towel when it became clear he couldn’t handle Ali’s hard forehands. Nico’s mom, Rasheda Ali, cheered for him at ringside as she watched him go 2-0 in his fledgling career.
Nico’s mother, Rasheda Ali, is an author, and her father, Bob Walsh, is a former Marine.
Sun
Robert Anthony Walsh was born in October 1957 in Chicago. His parents owned a restaurant that inspired Bob to become a chef. Before he could realize his culinary dream, he enlisted and served as a Marine for several years.
Rasheda Ali was born in 1970 in Pennyslvania to Muhammad Ali and his second wife, Belinda Boyd. She grew up with eight siblings and half-siblings, including her own, her twin Jamillah.
Walsh met Rasheda in 1997. The couple married soon after and had two children, Biaggio Ali Walsh (1998) and Nico Ali Walsh (2001).
Rasheda is a public speaker, author, and Parkinson’s disease advocate. She wrote I’ll Hold Your Hand So You Don’t Fall: A Kid’s Guide to Parkinson’s Disease to educate people about a condition her father struggled with. Rasheda spoke with The Guardian on the effect of Parkinson’s on Muhammad:
“Parkinson’s disease is a very humiliating experience, something that takes away: my dad’s best asset was his speech and this was a test to see how much faith my dad had. In our religion, we feel that when you are put to the test, it doesn’t mean you are a bad person, God just loves you and wants to see how much we love the Almighty.”
Muhammad’s left hand trembled uncontrollably as he lit the Olympic flame at the 1996 games in Atlanta. The entire world saw Muhammad in his weakened state but unwilling to let the condition bring him down. rasheda said The Guardian:
“That was very brave of him and he did it not only for himself but for other people who had that condition. He gave people with other conditions the ability to be brave and strong and resilient, because that’s what he did.”
Rasheda disapproved of her son’s move into boxing but will support him to the end.
After a year into his amateur career, Nico Ali wasn’t sure he wanted to pursue boxing long term. Therefore, he sought the advice of one of his greatest, his grandfather.
Parkinson’s had destroyed Muhammad’s speech, so the couple communicated by a yes or no system: pressing for yes and doing nothing for no. Muhammad did nothing when Nico asked if he should quit boxing.
Muhammad squeezed Nico’s hand when Walsh asked if he should continue boxing. “He squeezed my hand so hard,” Ali Walsh said. the sun of las vegas. “Okay, okay, I understand what you’re trying to tell me. After that incident, he kept insisting and insisting and I never questioned him again.”
rasheda said The Guardian that he didn’t like the idea of Nico going into professional boxing. Even so, she promised to support him: “He [Nico] he had a connection with his grandfather and then began to love the sport. I’m not 100% happy with him, but I support him 100%.”
Rasheda shows her support for Nico through her Instagram, which she has filled with photos of Nico. She said the independent It’s sad that Muhammad has never seen Nico fight. He came to Arizona for Nico’s first fight, but was unable to make it to the ring due to illness.
Instead, Muhammad gave Nico some fighting advice and offered his blessing. Rasheda explained:
“Then he gave Nico some advice and said, ‘Okay, we’ll get to the next fight.’ But of course he couldn’t do it. I really would have loved if dad had seen Nico’s first win. That was one of my dreams. He got to see my son play soccer briefly, but I really wanted him there for Nico when he got in the ring.”
Categories: Biography
Source: vcmp.edu.vn