Muhammad Ali's grandson reveals what he'd have thought of controversial Mike Tyson decision

Muhammad Ali would have been "entertained" by the "circus" that some boxing bouts have become, according to his grandson. While many would assume that the greatest of all time would be furious at mega-money fights between some of the sport's finest athletes and social media influencers, Biaggio Ali Walsh sees things differently.

Sitting down in an exclusive interview with Mirror Fighting this week, Walsh said that his late grandfather was amazed by the amounts of money the likes of Floyd Mayweather Jr were making for fights in the 2000s, with Ali's paydays in the 1960s and 1970s paling in comparison.

The 26-year-old explained: "You know, years ago when he was still alive, we were telling him how much Floyd was getting paid for his fights because Floyd was making a lot of money. He was making over 100million for his fights.

"And my grandpa was sitting in the chair. He's like, ‘No, no, no.' 'Oh, yeah. Yeah, bro. He's making 100million.’ And he's like, ‘No, no way.’ I'm like, ‘Yeah, dude, that's where boxing is now.'"

And while many purists were disgusted at the prospect of Mike Tyson coming out of retirement in 2024 to take on YouTuber-turned-pugilist Jake Paul - given the 30-year age-gap between the two and the fact that 'Iron Mike' hadn't competed professionally for almost two decades - Walsh believes that his grandfather would have been all for the contest.

He added: "In terms of the circus fights, that's what I like to call them - it's money orientated. It's not like it's not based on talent anymore, really. It's based on, you know, just the biggest name versus the biggest name, regardless of your skill level.

"But to make of that... I honestly don't think he would disapprove of it, because the viewership in the eyes and people buying to watch the fight was the reason he even started trash-talking and brought out his personality anyway. Yeah, so in a way, I feel like he'd be supportive of it.

Jake Paul fought Mike Tyson in November(Image: AP)

"You know, if you can fool millions of people to watch you fight, then you're doing something right, right? So I feel like he wouldn't disapprove of it.

"I feel like he would…it would be entertaining for him to see what's next, like, who's the next big name versus the next big name, you know? So I don't think he would disapprove of it. In fact, I think he would be entertained by it."

It came as very little surprise that Tyson suffered a unanimous decision loss to Paul when the two met at the AT&T Stadium in Arlington, Texas, as fight fans watched live worldwide on Netflix. The 28-year-old picked apart the former heavyweight world champion at leisure for eight rounds to bolster his professional record in the squared circle to 11-1, largely thanks to his advantage in terms of speed and stamina.

Ali enjoyed an incredible boxing career(Image: The Stanley Weston Archive)

Tyson also saw a wealth of criticism for entertaining such a fight with Paul in the first place, given that purists have been massively opposed to the impact that social media stars have had on the sport - with fighters participating in payday events instead of seeking tougher opposition to win world titles like boxers of decades past.

Ali will go down in the history books as one of the greatest fighters to ever step foot in the ring. A three-time lineal heavyweight champion, Ali beat a who's who of opponents to build a stunning record of 56-5, with wins over the likes of George Foreman, Leon Spinks and Buster Mathis - not to mention his trilogy with Joe Frazier, which culminated in the 1975 Thrilla in Manila.

While Ali passed away at the age of 74 in 2016, Walsh appears to be following in his grandfather's footsteps by carving out his own career in the world of combat sports, currently riding a flawless 2-0 record in mixed martial arts with the Professional Fighters League. The lightweight, who trains out of Xtreme Couture in Las Vegas, Nevada, secured a unanimous decision win over Emmanuel Palacio in his debut with the organisation last February, before doubling down with a first-round TKO of Brian Stapleton just six months later.

Biaggio Ali Walsh fights next month(Image: Cooper Neill/PFL)

He is next set to compete with the PFL come June 27, taking on Ronnie Gibbs at the Wintrust Arena in Chicago, Illinois. Speaking about his opponent for the evening, Walsh remained humble as he said: "And my opponent, Ronnie, he's from Chicago.

"I think he had a pretty good amateur career. He was, I think, 7-1. He's 1-0 as a pro now. Seems like a striker, but can grapple too. Just seems like a good matchup for this fight.

"I'm just super excited to be able to display all the stuff that I've improved on and all the things I've worked on since my last fight. And that's just what I'm most excited about, is being able to show the people that."