Nico Ali Walsh To Return On Lomachenko October Card

One of the Top Rank boxing up and coming middleweights will be part of the Vasiliy Lomachenko card in New York next month. This, as the promotion announced Tuesday afternoon that Nico Ali Walsh will be back,

🦋 x 🗽@NicoAliX74 joins a loaded #LomaOrtiz card Saturday, October 29 at @HuluTheaterMSG. pic.twitter.com/XoZVZYrgvS

— Top Rank Boxing (@trboxing) September 27, 2022

From the Top Rank release,

“Middleweight prospect Nico Ali Walsh, the grandson of “The Greatest,” is set to make his New York City return.

Ali Walsh will fight Billy Wagner in his first scheduled six-rounder Saturday, Oct. 29 at Hulu Theater at Madison Square Garden. Ali Walsh-Wagner joins the undercard of the lightweight main event between former pound-for-pound king Vasiliy Lomachenko and the unbeaten Jamaine “The Technician” Ortiz. In the featherweight co-feature, two-time Cuban Olympic gold medalist Robeisy Ramirez battles former world champion Jessie Magdaleno.

The entire Lomachenko-Ortiz card will stream live and exclusively in the U.S. on ESPN+.

“I am thrilled to be back in action on another significant card. Lomachenko is one of the greats of his era,” Ali Walsh said. “My first year as a professional has been a tremendous learning experience, and I have a great team to help me get to the next level. I respect Billy Wagner and am preparing to showcase everything I’ve learned in the gym from my incredible trainer, Kay Koroma.”

Ali Walsh (6-0, 5 KOs) made his pro debut in August 2021 with a first-round knockout and has been dominant in the paid ranks apart from one minor hiccup. Last December, he made his Madison Square Garden debut and edged Reyes Sanchez by majority decision. Following a pair of quick knockouts to start his 2022 campaign, he fought Sanchez in an August rematch at Pechanga Arena San Diego, the same building where Muhammad Ali lost to Ken Norton via split decision in 1973.

Ali Walsh cleared up any doubt, doubling over Sanchez with a left hook to the liver in the second round. Wagner (5-2, 1 KO), from Browning, Montana, has won two straight since a February 2021 knockout loss to Javier Martinez inside the MGM Grand Bubble.

Lomachenko (16-2, 11 KOs) is a two-time Olympic gold medalist for Ukraine, who became a three-weight world champion in his 12th bout. Lomachenko unified three of the four lightweight titles before a loss to Teofimo Lopez in October 2020 derailed his quest for undisputed supremacy. Last year, he came back with one-sided victories over by TKO Masayoshi Nakatani and decision over Richard Commey.

Lomachenko’s bout with Ortiz will be his first of 2022 after the Russians invaded his homeland of Ukraine and he was part of the civilian defense for the country for the first few months of the conflict.

Lomachenko is 5-0 in his career at the Garden and it’s Hulu Theater.