The six round battle between Nico Ali Walsh and Sona Akale was a highly competitive affair, but Muhammad Ali‘s grandson managed to pull off a unanimous decision win to avenge his loss to Akale last year. The judges scored the fight 58-55, 57-56, 57-56, all in Walsh’s favor. However, the 23-year-old didn’t leave the ring unscathed by any means.

Following five rounds of fierce exchange at the James L. Knight Center, Miami Beach, the Chicago, Illinois native dislocated his shoulder in the championship round of the fight, as he desperately tried to put the thing back in place by punching his arm mid fight. Seeing the unique fight go down, let’s just say fans had something to say.

Fight Night Drama: Nico Ali Walsh vs. Sona Akale

Throughout the fight, Top Rank shared several updates of the fight on X—the first big moment came in the third round when Walsh managed to knock down Akale in the third round of the fight, which ended with a standing eight count. However, Akale made a quick comeback in the fifth.

The 36-year-old Minnesota native started dominating Walsh in the fifth, with big shots to Walsh’s head. In the fifth, of course, Walsh’s shoulder became the center of attention, with Top Rank writing, “@NicoAliWalsh dislocated his shoulder in Round Six”. As expected, this incident managed to elicit a plethora of responses from the fans.

A win can’t protect Walsh from criticism

Despite winning the fight, Walsh’s close battle could not convince fans to cheer for him. One user branded the grandson of the boxing legend, Bronny James, of boxing. James is, of course, the son of legendary basketball player LeBron James, who has failed to make the same strides as his father.

Another user revealed what would happen if Walsh had one more bad fight. Yep, the user thinks he might end up fighting Jake Paul. But think about it, they are both in the early stages of their career, so a fight between them isn’t that far-fetched.

Meanwhile, the next user described their thoughts about the fight with a single word—robbery! However, the fight was too close—the whole time it looked like it could go either way.

Someone else suggested Walsh’s efforts to put his shoulder back in place seemed like a scene from the movie ‘Rocky’. Hopefully, there will be a sequel, completing the Walsh vs. Akale trilogy.

The next user had urged Walsh to bounce back when the 23-year-old was getting hammered in the fifth round. Well, the fifth round wasn’t much of a comeback for Nico, but he managed to win.

In the aftermath of Nico Ali Walsh’s controversial victory, reminiscent of his legendary grandfather Muhammad Ali’s resilience in the ring, fans are left disbelief. At this point, it’s safe to say that Nico Ali Walsh might have to face Akale one more time to prove his superiority. But what did you think of the fight?