“Biggest Thing That I See Is Making Boxing Better Is…”: Remembering Muhammad Ali’s Era, Grandson Details Recent Steps Taken in Boxing to Protect Fighters (Exclusive)

Boxing as a sport is seldom considered ‘safe’. It involves punches and damages that a fighter takes to sustain in the ring. However, over the years, the sport has taken leaps in making it comparatively safer through regulations. Evaluating these changes in an exclusive fancast interview with EssentiallySports was Nico Ali Walsh, Muhammad Ali‘s grandson.

Nico hardly grew up with aspirations of entering the boxing ring. His grandfather, in the latter part of his career, endured significant head injuries, with many speculating that they may have worsened and potentially triggered Parkinson’s disease. Witnessing the repercussions of the illness firsthand would have deterred most individuals, but not his grandson. Nico, now an emerging boxer, contends that conditions in the sport have improved since the days of Ali.

Nico Ali Walsh agrees with the refs

Nico Ali Walsh recently appeared with his mother, Rasheda Ali, on the ES Fancast interview. When the question on boxers’ safety was posed by Keny Ducey, the host, Rasheda Ali, asked Nico to respond. After all, who better to comment on the sport than a boxer himself? Nico admitted, “I just think with boxing it’s like, it’s hard you’re never going to make it a safe sport but like to make it safer, yes, there have been situations…”

The first example he cited was the reduction of rounds in a bout from 15 to 12. He remarked, “I mean like the biggest thing that comes off the top of my mind is that like they used to have 15-round fights back in my grandfather’s days, and now they switched it to 12 rounds. And that was because of health reasons…”

In 1982, in a brutal encounter between Ray Mancini and Duk Koo Kim, the South Korean boxer collapsed in the 14th round and was rushed to the hospital. Despite the doctor’s attempts, Duk Koo Kim passed away. This pushed the organizations toward making radical changes in the number of rounds. By 1988, major sanctioning bodies had reduced the number of rounds from 15 to 12.

Ali Walsh continued to shed light on the new safety regulations brought in to make the sport safer.“The refs are stopping the fights when they know that the opponent is not going to, you know, win the fight, and if they’ve perceived that, they could be only damaging their health. So I’ve seen fights get stopped and people are like oh, it’s premature, it’s an early stoppage, but I side with the refs on like early stoppages because I think they’re only protecting the fighter,” added Nico.

Also Read: “Boxing Is in a Good Place”: After $2.2 Billion Network’s Boxing Exit, Muhammad Ali’s Grandson Nico Ali Walsh Contemplates Top Rank’s “New Era of Boxing” (Exclusive)

Many more regulations like the ones conveyed by Nico have made the sport comparatively safer since its early days. Do you agree with the examples Nico cited in his ES Fancast Interview or do you think boxing can never be too safe? Let us know in the comments section.

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