Muhammad Ali’s grandson, Nico Ali Walsh, channelled his grandfather’s moves, but he wasn’t able to emulate his successes.
Fifty years after Ali and Joe Frazier closed out their iconic trilogy at the Araneta Coliseum in Quezon City, Philippines, Ali Walsh (11-2-1) met Thailand’s Kittisak Klinson (10-2-1) at the same venue on Wednesday morning.
Muhammad Ali’s grandson channels boxing legend’s tactics in ‘Thrilla in Manila 2’ but is denied win
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Ali Walsh had some decent spells, but it wasn’t enough to secure him the winCredit: IBA
The card, dubbed ‘Thrilla In Manila 2’, in a nod to Ali and Frazier’s barnburning third bout, was promoted by Manny Pacquiao‘s MP Promotions and IBA Pro.
Melvin Jerusalem topped the bill in a WBC minimumweight title defence against Siyakholwa Kuse.
But before then, Ali Walsh took centre stage on the undercard.
Unlike the original ‘Thrilla in Manila’, this one didn’t end with a member of the Ali clan getting their hand raised.
Instead, Ali Walsh was held to a majority draw by Klinson.
One judge scored the bout 77-75 in Klinson’s favour, while the other two submitted even scorecards of 76-76.
A disappointed Ali Walsh vented his frustrations with the result in the immediate aftermath.
But more than anything, he was thankful for the opportunity.
“I wouldn’t be here today if not for God and my grandfather,” he said.
“So I want to thank my grandfather for putting on an amazing show fifty years ago in this arena.
“Thank you for having me, and I hope to be back soon.
“I don’t agree with the decision, but I know you guys saw the real victor tonight. Thank you guys so much for coming out.”
Story of the fight
The fight was a tale of two halves.
Klinson got off to a fast start, trapping Ali against the ropes and unloading heavy combinations in the first three frames.
But by round four, Klinson’s output began to lower as he stepped off Ali Walsh and looked to counter off the back foot.
Chants of ‘Ali, Ali, Ali’ rang around the venue as Ali Walsh closed out the third round by performing his grandfather’s famous rope-a-dope technique, which ‘The Greatest’ used to tire out and beat ‘Big’ George Foreman in Zaire in 1974.
The extra time and space were greatly received by Ali Walsh, who began to snap back Klinson’s head with a ram-rodding jab and booming right uppercut.
By the seventh stanza, Klinson was breathing heavily and looked ragged.
Early in the round, Ali Walsh stunned his adversary with a clubbing right hand, but it was ruled to have landed behind the head.
Klinson continued to complain to the referee and resorted to the dark arts as he attempted to smother Ali Walsh’s work by clinching.
Ali Walsh finished strong down the home straight with a blistering flurry and capped off his performance with an Ali shuffle.
Yet he was ultimately denied the win.