Canelo Alvarez continues to sway the fans and pros with his longevity, aggression, and zeal to fight. It’s no wonder the current crop of boxers look up to him, emulate his work ethic, and try to achieve what he has already done before. But it’s not every day when you see the Mexican champion imparting some words of wisdom. Nico Ali Walsh had his lucky day, as he listened to him share his mantra of success.

Walsh, 24, turned to his Instagram handle and shared a clip of him in a gym, where Alvarez, 34, had joined him. The fans could see the two share a passionate talk about boxing. The video started with the super middleweight champion advising Walsh, at 10-1-1, to achieve balance in life and boxing.

Alvarez, at 62-2-2, could be heard saying, “Discipline. You need to have balance, right. Discipline, talent, hard work. If you have discipline, talent, then you are good. If don’t have discipline, not good. If have discipline, but you don’t have talent, so it’s same… Sometimes it’s hard to come and give, you are tired and everything. But discipline go.”

Following this, Walsh humbly thanked the champion and explained how he had his famed grandfather, Muhammad Ali, as his inspiration. But according to the American fighter, Alvarez was always the second one. He said, “Thank you so much for coming. My grandfather has always been my number 1, honestly. But you have been number 2.”  Interestingly, this was not the first time that Walsh had Alvarez up there along with his idols.

Nico Ali Walsh included Canelo Alvarez in his Mt. Rushmore of boxing

In a conversation with TalkSports, when asked about his Mount Rushmore of boxing, the Chicago native started the list with his grandfather’s name. That was a no-brainer pick, as his grandfather has had a profound impact on him and his career as a boxer. When Walsh had doubts about picking boxing as a career, his grandfather guided him. Sugar Ray Leonard took the second spot. But Walsh put Alvarez in the third spot, whom he believed was the greatest fighter of his generation.

Walsh declared. “Honestly, he [Muhammad Ali] is number one on my list whether we are related or not. He is the greatest fighter of all time. Then in second Sugar Ray Leonard. He was one of my favorite fighters ever, I really loved him. And in third, yeah Canelo I’d have to go with Canelo. He is a truly great fighter.”

The middleweight fighter is still fighting for his separate identity and his career, as he surges in the rankings after collecting two wins this year. It remains to be seen who he fights next and whether he will soon fight for a title match.

What do you make of this amusing exchange between Nico Ali Walsh and Canelo Alvarez? Let us know in the comments below.