SLINK PROPER AKALE MEETS NICO ALI THIS SATURDAY ON ESPN+

Saint Paul, Minnesota middleweight Sona “Slink Proper” Akale (7-1, 4 KO’s) meets Nico Ali Walsh (8-0-1, 5 KO’s) tomorrow night in a six round featured bout live on ESPN+ beginning at approximately 7:30 CST. Ali-Walsh is the grandson of legend Muhammad Ali. He enters the fight with Akale coming off of an 8 round draw against Danny Rosenberger last May. The draw however was changed to a no contest yesterday after random drug testing results from their May 20 bout at MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas revealed elevated levels of testosterone in the sample provided by Rosenberger according to BoxingScene.

Akale makes his return after suffering his first defeat last June in Saint Paul. He believes that fight was a blessing in setting up the world featured showdown with Ali-Walsh this Saturday night. In that bout, Akale started lightning fast and sharp against skilled boxer Cameron Krael. Despite the good start from the Minnesotan, Krael got stronger as Akale slowed and the bout was stopped in round 6 of 8. Akale shared his thoughts with MinnesotaBoxing.com about the fight with Krael and tomorrow night’s big time fight against Ali.

“I felt like I had just finished training in one of my two hour sessions. And I ran out of energy” said Akale when asked about how he felt. “I overworked in training. People were telling me that I was doing too much. When you really want to win like I did, you try to do everything possible. I was doing too much and over thought everything. It’s never too late and I learned from it. Healing and rest are just as important as the actual exercise.”

“I swear things happen for a reason. If I didn’t lose that fight, I wouldn’t be fighting Nico Ali. God works in mysterious ways!”

Akale weighed in at this afternoons weigh-ins at 157.9 pounds while Ali-Walsh tipped the scales at 159.1 pounds.

Heavyweights Jared “The Real Big Baby” Anderson (15-0, 14 KOs) battles Andriy Rudenko (35-6, 21 KOs) in the 10 round main event. The co-feature, also scheduled for 10 rounds will see Nigerian Efe Ajagba (17-1, 13 KO’s) meet southpaw Zhan Kossobutskiy (19-0, 18 KO’s). The main portion of the show will be televised on ESPN.

Undefeated middleweight prospect Nico Ali Walsh (8-0-1, 5 KOs), grandson of Muhammad Ali, will face Sona Akale (7-1, 4 KOs) in a six-rounder. Ali Walsh will fight in Tulsa for the third time as a pro following an eight-round draw against Danny Rosenberger on the Devin Haney-Vasiliy Lomachenko undercard.

FEATURING Slink Proper, Sona Peter Akale, Quincy Caldwell, Element Gym, Shane Knight Hunter Chanslor