LAS VEGAS – Nico Ali Walsh didn’t execute his game plan Saturday and it cost the young middleweight.

Faced with a crafty fighter who boxed effectively off his back foot for almost all of their eight-round bout, Ali Walsh settled for a split draw with Danny Rosenberger on the Devin Haney-Vasiliy Lomachenko undercard at MGM Grand Garden Arena. Judge Lisa Giampa scored Rosenberger a 77-75 winner, but judge Dave Moretti scored their fight 77-75 for Ali Walsh and judge Glenn Feldman scored it a draw (76-76).

Las Vegas’ Ali Walsh (8-0-1, 5 KOs), a grandson of Muhammad Ali, pressured Rosenberger throughout their bout. Rosenberger boxed well while moving backward, though, and made their fight very competitive.

Rosenberger has an unsightly record (13-9-5, 4 KOs), but his boxing IQ and elusiveness enabled him to push the 22-year-old Ali Walsh, whose limited experience has caused his promoter, Top Rank Inc., to match him cautiously.

Ali Walsh’s trainers told him prior to the eighth and final round that he needed to win it. He came forward throughout the final three minutes of their bout, but he couldn’t hurt the slippery Rosenberger and didn’t land many power punches.

Ali Walsh connected with a left hook and then a right hand in the final 10 seconds of the seventh round. That prompted Rosenberger to fire hard shots

Rosenberger caught Ali Walsh with a right hand in an exchange just before the sixth round ended. Rosenberger caught another right uppercut with just under a minute remaining in the sixth round.

Rosenberger landed two right uppercuts while he unloaded a flurry of punches just before the fifth round ended.

Ali Walsh landed another stiff jab that dislodged Rosenberger’s mouthpiece with just under a minute to go in the fourth round. Rosenberger landed a right hand to the side of Ali Walsh’s head earlier in the fourth round.

Rosenberger continued to box off his back foot during a second round that lacked action.

Ali Walsh landed several hard jabs during the opening round. Rosenberger seemed reluctant to engage in those opening three minutes, but he landed a hard jab of his own with just under a minute to go in the first round that made Ali Walsh reset his feet.

Keith Idec is a senior writer/columnist for BoxingScene.com. He can be reached on Twitter @Idecboxing.