- Treavon Craycraft beat Nico Ali Walsh by unanimous decision at Memorial Hall in Kansas City, Kansas, on October 10, with scores of 78-74, 77-75 and 77-75
- Craycraft improves to 11-0-1 in the biggest win of his career, while Ali Walsh drops to 12-4-1 after a fourth defeat
- My view is that Craycraft is a proper prospect to watch, and Ali Walsh needs a different level of opposition to rebuild
Craycraft Beats Nico Ali Walsh On The Scorecards
Right then. Let's not beat around the bush: Treavon Craycraft had a big night in Kansas. The unbeaten American outpointed Nico Ali Walsh over eight rounds in the main event of the Heart of America Pro and Am Boxing Invitational at Memorial Hall in Kansas City, Kansas, on Saturday, October 10. The judges scored it 78-74, 77-75 and 77-75, all in favour of Craycraft.
Going in, Craycraft was 10-0-1 with three knockouts. Ali Walsh was 12-3-1 with five. Nobody was calling that an easy night for the grandson of Muhammad Ali, and the result bore that out. This was a deserved win for the unbeaten man, and a breakthrough on a bigger stage than Craycraft has had before.
What It Means For Craycraft
For Craycraft, this is the best win of his career, and the reports describe it as a real breakthrough on a broadcast people could watch around the world. There was no knockout, but a proper eight-round win over a recognised name is how prospects are made. The challenge now is to keep rising. Those scorecards were not wide, and he needs a step up in class to prove this was not a one-night peak.
My prediction: Craycraft gets a few offers off the back of this, and if he is smart he takes a regional title fight next rather than another show-case opponent.
Where Does Ali Walsh Go From Here?
This is the harder question. Ali Walsh now has four losses on his record. I wrote about him last month in our look at the Zuffa and Ali Act issue, and the common thread is that the name keeps opening doors while the results are not following. Make no mistake, I like the fact he keeps taking real fights. But a fourth defeat means the next move has to be about rebuilding, not about the headline.
If I were advising him, I would move him down a level, let him string a few wins together and rebuild the belief. The Ali name will always get him a chance, but only wins will keep it. Craycraft beating Ali Walsh is a good night for Kansas boxing, and a reminder that a famous surname never throws a punch for you.