Considered as the greatest fighter to ever live and known to many as not only one of the best fighters to lace up the gloves but an icon to millions across the world, Muhammad Ali changed the world forever.
His flamboyant, confident and extremely slick style made Ali a man of his size one of the hardest fighters to land a punch on. Known for the style of rope-a-dope which lured fighters in to land their heaviest and hardest punches until exhaustion resulted in Ali landing a few punches and dropping his opponents.
Many years on, Ali is still known as the greatest and has inspired fighters from all over the world to follow his footsteps.
One person he has influenced is his grandson Nico Ali who recently started his boxing journey and pro-debut. In only his second fight, Nico Ali defeated James Westley II by KO in 30 seconds of the third round.
Ali as his grandfather used to do, stung Westley with a straight right hand. In the second round, Ali put up the pressure by cracking his opponent in the centre and dropped him to the floor.
Ali knew Westley was hurt and came out rushing into the third round and landed a fearsome right hand which made Westley take the knee.
As Westley’s corner looked, they threw in the towel to save their fighter from more serious damage.
After the fight, Ali, a practicing Muslim said ‘Alhamdulilah’ meaning ‘praise be to god’ and expressed ‘I’m blessed that I am following the legacy of my grandfather. Everyone who loved my grandfather is now watching me’.
He admitted despite winning the fight in under three rounds more work is needed to increase his boxing skills and said ‘I’m happy this fight went the way it did. There is stuff I need to work on”.
Ali knows about the expectation which is on his shoulders as carrying the name Ali isn’t easy for anyone. With now advancing to 2 wins in both fights, fighters are eager to beat Ali and set a statement.
