Nico Ali Walsh won again. And he gave a nod to his famous grandfather in the process.
The grandson of Muhammad Ali knocked out Jeremiah Yeager in the second round of their scheduled four-round bout on the Robson Conceicao-Xavier Martinez card Saturday in Tulsa, Oklahoma.
Ali Walsh (4-0, 3 KOs) put Yeager (1-2-1, 1 KO) down and hurt him with a big left with about 45 seconds remaining in the final round. Yeager was able to get up only to be met with an Ali shuffle and a combination that prompted the referee to stop the fight.
“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.”
Ali Walsh, who had new trainer Richard T. Slone in his corner for the first time, says he continues to improve.
“I think the main thing was staying calm, which I did,” he said. “Another thing was head movement and defense, 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?”