15 June 2023 , 10:34
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Biaggio Ali Walsh has admitted people are eager to see he and brother Nico fail when they step into the cage or the ring due to their last name.
The siblings have been given a number of major opportunities due to the fact that their grandfather Muhammad Ali is one of the most beloved athletes in history, but have faced a backlash as a result. Nico is a top boxing prospect while Biaggio has taken to the MMA cage for his amateur career.
Nico was signed to Top Rank Boxing before having ever had a professional fight, while Nico's amateur career is playing out under the glare of the PFL spotlight. The elder sibling is fighting on major networks such as DAZN in the UK and ESPN in America on Friday night when he returns to the cage against Travell Miller in his latest outing this Friday night.
"The pros are that you have an inspirational figure, almost a superhero kind of figure, and you are related to that person," he said ahead of his cage return. "His blood runs through my blood and I think that is a huge pro, while another is that I am getting the opportunities that I have been given.
"I'm getting the exposure which is a huge pro but there are cons too. There's huge pressure and a target on my back just because of my name, just because of my existence people are going to try their best to hurt 'Muhammad Ali's grandson' so with that comes pressure as well which I think is one of the cons as well. What I think is more important is how you deal with those cons."
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Biaggio suffered defeat in his amateur debut, which was broadcast on pay-per-view around the world last year, but has since gone on a three-fight knockout streak. And his brother just had his first flirtation with a loss, scraping a draw against the veteran Danny Rosenberger to end his winning professional start.
"He was a little upset because I believe he won the fight and he believes he won the fight," Biaggio said of his sibling's reaction. "The judges that night were a little blind I think, but I told him 'hey this is not a loss, the only thing you can take from this is to just learn and next time you know not to leave it to the judges'.
"It doesn't come up as a loss on the record, which I was kind of telling my brother as well. Even though he might feel like he did lose because the judges gave it a split draw, it wasn't so it's kind of an illusion to think it was a loss which is what I was telling my brother."
The pair are both handling their careers in the media spotlight, with comparisons always easy to come by between their careers and the famous heavyweight champion. But they are still keen to learn with their wins and losses and develop as fighters in the traditional sense.
Biaggio Ali Walsh won his PFL debutDo you think Biaggio Ali Walsh or his brother Nico can become world champions in their sports? Let us know your thoughts in the comments section below!
"So the fighting journey is also a learning journey," he continued. "I think I handled [the debut loss] pretty well because I lost and I didn't want to lose but right after I wanted to fight again. It kind of lit a fire in me losing and usually after a loss you're discouraged which is normal and I was discouraged but I wanted to get right after it.
"I do think you learn more from your losses than your wins, but you can learn from your wins too. I'm on a three-fight win streak right now and I've learned a lot from those even though I've won. I don't just sit down and pat myself on the back after I win, I look at what I did wrong in the fight.
"I'm just looking to improve each and every time and become a better fighter, One of the cons is people want to see you fall, and that's okay because I'm just going to keep standing."
Watch Biaggio Ali Walsh's return to the cage live on DAZN this Friday night from Atlanta in a showcase amateur bout on the PFL regular season