From the ring to octagon: Muhammad Ali’s grandson continuing family legacy

ATLANTA — His grandfather was arguably the greatest boxer in the history of the sport, but having a famous last name doesn’t guarantee success in the ring or in this case the octagon.

Channel 2 sports director Zach Klein spoke with Biaggio Ali Walsh ahead of his MMA fight Friday night in Atlanta more than half a century after his grandfather Muhammad Ali competed at the Atlanta Municipal Auditorium.

“When I say Muhammad Ali, what do you think of?”

“I think Poppy. That’s what I call him. You know, me and my brother, we call him Poppy,” Biaggio Ali Walsh said.

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“We were very close. So I’m super grateful that my parents made sure that me and my brother were very close with our grandfather, because my dad’s parents had passed away before I was born. So he was the only grandfather that I really had.”

His grandfather instilled in him hard work and the drive to succeed in endeavors one loves. For the 24-year-old, that was sports.

After two season playing at the University of California-Berkley, Walsh would finish up his college football career at the University of Nevada Las Vegas. He then made the transition to mixed martial arts where he’s in the gym training nearly three hours a day.

”It’s mostly cardio. I don’t lift any weights. The weights I lift are people with the wrestling. But yeah, it’s mostly all cardio and, and just repetition through drilling and and wrestling and grappling and whatnot,” he told Klein.

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Walsh has a 3-1 record as an amateur and is thankful for the opportunity the Professional Fighters League is giving him.

“I’m a baby in the sport right now. I’m just getting started. It’s honestly the beginning of the beginning. You know, I would say the beginning would be the beginning of my pro career, but it’s the beginning of the beginning. So I’m still learning, I’m a baby. I’m trying to get better and sky’s the limit.”

Fifty-three years after Muhammad Ali visited the Channel 2 studios to promote his fight, his grandson visited the lobby to promote his own.

“When you see videos like this of your grandfather fighting in Atlanta, now here you are in 2023 in Atlanta continuing the legacy. What does that mean to you?” Klein asked.

“God is good. God is great. You know, the stars are aligning. You know, like I said, I think this is all written I think this is destined to be. Yeah, it’s it’s pretty crazy,” he said.”

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