MUHAMMAD ALI gave his grandson Nico three simple boxing tips before passing away – and they have stayed with him ever since.
Ali sadly died in 2016 aged 74 but his legacy in the ring lives on through his daughter Rasheda’s son Nico Ali Walsh.
One year before his passing, Nico FaceTimed his iconic grandfather in the height of his battle with Parkinson’s.
But sensing that the boxing great was having a good day – Nico took the opportunity to pick the brains of the sport’s most iconic fighter.
And Ali’s tips were simple yet effective; stay in shape, do plenty of road work and eat right.
Nico told SunSport: “He just had a really, really good day and with Parkinson’s every day is up and down in between.
“So it’s real hard to see which days are a good day, but he was just having a really good day so we called him on FaceTime, he could talk clear.
“I have other clips where he sounded like he did in these old interviews talking about, I’m gonna make a comeback this and that.
“So he was just having a good day and that’s when I used that opportunity and I was like, ‘OK, give me some tips, give me this, give me that.’
“And yeah, we spoke for a long time that day.”
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Nico says he lives by the touching piece of advice passed down to him by his hero and always sticks to them.
The middleweight – a devout Muslim like his grandfather – stays in shape all year round like he was told to.
And SunSport can attest to his clean eating after being invited to dinner with the Ali family – where Nico stuck to lean meat and fruit.
But the 25-year-old prospect does admit he is no keen runner – unlike Ali who would do up to SEVEN MILES each and every day.
Nico said: “I think the most important of all those that he said was the roadwork. I mean, he loved running. I hate running.
“But it’s probably the most important thing for a fighter, I would say, and that’s what he said.
“That was among the three things that he said is the most important.”
Nico returns to the ring on Wednesday in the Philippines to commemorate 50 years since the Thrilla in Manila.
He faces Thailand’s Kittisak Klinson in the exact same but renovated arena where Ali beat Joe Frazier in their classic trilogy bout.
Ahead of the IBA event, Nico said: “It’s a huge, humbling experience.
“It’s a blessing that it’s been 50 years, half a century and I just passed the arena just now, people are still cheering and taking pictures of my grandfather and Frazier.
“It’s crazy that I can be part of this. I think it will feel special. These fights, people don’t understand they’re like family events for me.
“I’ve got my parents here but for my mum especially, she saw her dad fight and now she gets to see me fight in the same arena.
“She wasn’t there for that fight in particular but now she’ll get to see me.”
