Biaggio Ali Walsh will be in action once again at PFL 5 on Friday night, in an amateur bout that might look odd placed on a main card were any other name involved.
Blaggio, however, is the grandson of the greatest boxer of all time. Muhammad Ali passed away in 2016, but the family’s fighting spirit lives on in his grandsons Nico and Biaggio, the latter of whom opted to pursue an MMA career rather than boxing.
So far, so good. Ali Walsh is 3-1 in the cage as an amateur, and will look to make it four wins in a row against Travell Miller. He’s continued to grow, and has had plenty of takeaways from his fights, he told Cageside Press in a recent interview.
“That last one, I think being calm was the biggest takeaway,” Ali Walsh admitted. “Because I kind of went out a little feisty, but yeah, I think just staying calm, being more composed was the biggest takeaway I got from that.”
Ali Walsh learned a tough lesson right out of the gate when he started fighting last year, losing his amateur debut by submission. “I wanted to fight immediately right after that,” he told us. But ultimately, the loss helped more than it hurt.
“I don’t expect my career to just be like this. I expect hardship, I expect adversity, I expect things I’m going to have to overcome to some day be a champion. So yeah, my first amateur fight, losing, it was a great thing. I was one of the best things that’s happened to me.”
It was after that first (and only, to date) loss that the PFL reached out, which took Ali Walsh by surprise. His initial response was, “let’s take it easy.” He had just lost his first fight, and was 0-1. “Let’s take it slow.” But after speaking further with the promotion, he came to understand that “they see potential in me, they believe in me.”
“I came to understand the bigger picture and what they saw in me.” Still, the deal wasn’t announced until the future lightweight was 1-1.
Ali Walsh also knows that he’s a PR rep’s dream. “I’ve been exposed to interviews since I was 14 years old and I was playing football, because they found out who I was related to.” Despite being a good player, it was the link to Muhammad Ali, the family bloodline, that reporters used as their hook. “I think, as a PR [person]’s dream, probably. I’m used to the media, I would say that I’m a good fighter with a lot of potential, I have a famous grandfather, I know how to speak and articulate well.”
Ali Walsh noted that his football career played out on ESPN. Even his work as a model has helped prepare him for the spotlight. “It just prepared me for this next career and this next leap in my life. Everything happens for a reason, that’s what I believe.”
Watch our full interview with PFL 5 lightweight Biaggio Ali Walsh above. For more from Ali Walsh, his media day appearance can be found below.
