'Sky is the limit': How good could boxer Nico Ali Walsh, Muhammad Ali's grandson, be?

After Muhammad Ali’s grandson won by a TKO during the first round of his pro boxing debut Saturday night, Nico Ali Walsh’s grandmother offered an assessment of his performance. 

“The Legend continues," Khalilah Ali proclaimed by text message. 

As Ali Walsh pounded his opponent with a barrage of punches, chants of “Ali, Ali," rang out as they did for his late grandfather. Never mind that his opponent, Jordan Weeks, looked badly overmatched. The moment triggered a question: 

How good could Muhammad Ali’s grandson be? Good enough to conjure memories of The Greatest? 

“I really do believe that with my training, the sky is the limit," Ali Walsh told Paste BN Sports. “I’m really excited to get back into camp and start learning again." 

'HE'S SO EXCITED ABOUT THIS': Nico Ali Walsh, grandson of Muhammad Ali, before first fight

Before the end of the year, there will be more chances to assess the 21-year-old middleweight. Ali Walsh will fight next Oct. 23 in Atlanta and fight again Dec. 11 at Madison Square Garden in New York.  

But in search of answers now, Paste BN interviewed two Hall of Fame boxers, George Foreman and Larry Holmes, and two veteran trainers, Teddy Atlas and Abel Sanchez, along with Ali Walsh, too. 

How good could Muhammad Ali’s grandson be? 

Foreman, who lost to Ali in the “Rumble in the Jungle" in 1974, said he thinks Ali Walsh could be ready for a championship fight in two years. 

“This guy, he’s a tough little cookie," Foreman said. “All he has to do is stay busy. You keep a young fighter busy for like 16, 17 months, and if the talent is there, man, you got you a contender or a guy fighting for his first title. 

“He’s got a natural antenna like his grandfather staying away from punches. That’s a natural thing. You turn your head at the right time. You get out of the way just at the right time. He’s going to be a fine little fighter. He’s got the stuff. I think in two years, some title shot’s going to be out there for him." 

Larry Holmes, who in 1980 beat Ali, assessed Ali Walsh after watching a video of the fight. 

“He’s got balance and he’s got a good one-two," Holmes said. 

How good could he be? 

“Well, listen, it’s hard to tell how good a guy’s going to be on his first fight, you know?’’ Holmes said. “He’s got to fight somebody. He looks like he’s got determination and a one-two.’’ 

Abel Sanchez, who has trained multiple champions, worked with Ali Walsh for a few months at the end of 2019. Before the fight on Saturday, Sanchez said Ali Walsh had good hand speed and good instincts. But then came the pro debut. 

“I thought he did good," Sanchez said by text. “Got a little anxious when he hurt Weeks. I thought he had his chin up in the air a little too much ... the little exuberant mistakes will be worked on, all and all a good debut.’’ 

As far as how good Ali Walsh could be, Sanchez said it depends on how he is moved along. Whereas Foreman said Ali Walsh might need just two years to be ready for a championship fight, Sanchez talked about it as a four- to five-year process. 

Bob Arum of Top Rank Boxing, which signed Ali Walsh to a multi-fight deal, said he expects Muhammad Ali’s grandson to fight approximately five times a year. 

“I’m going to proceed very cautiously," Arum said. “But I think he has a terrific future. I was really impressed." 

Teddy Atlas, the Hall of Fame trainer, said he expects Ali Walsh to get to 15-0 or 20-0 thanks to careful matchmaking. 

“I say it with like a half a smirk on my face because I know that’s what they’ll probably do," he said. 

At that point, Atlas said, a solid assessment of Ali Walsh’s future can be made. But he offered an early appraisal based on Ali Walsh’s pro debut. 

“He had a rhythm to him," Atlas said. “He knows basics. He was smooth. He used his legs, obviously not to the level that his grandfather used them. But he moved, to the side, in and out a little bit. 

“He didn’t have to do too much with this particular opponent. But he showed the idea of using his legs, the value to that."

But Atlas said he doesn’t see the “wow’’ factor. 

“Do I see one ability that strikes me as 'wow,' that power you can build, that speed you can build on? No, I don’t see that 'wow.' 

“But I don’t see anything bad. I don’t see anything that scares me. And that’s good. I see a lot of things he does good." 

Then there’s Ali Walsh. 

“My absolute goal is not to be my grandfather, but to be the greatest Nico that I can be," he said.’’