Sona Akale previously gained minor acclaim as a hip hop artist under the stage name ‘Slink Proper.’

He will now be known for the rest of his boxing career as the first fighter to bump off Nico Ali Walsh.

The 35-year-old middleweight outhustled Muhammad Ali’s grandson en route to an upset six-round, majority decision win. A 57-57 tally was overruled by scores of 58-56 and 58-56 for Akale in their ESPN+ preliminary undercard bout Saturday from Hard Rock Hotel & Casino in Tulsa, Oklahoma.

Ali Walsh was forced to fend off an onrushing Akale early in the bout and throughout their entertaining six round affair. Minnesota's Akale came forward and launched overhand rights that forced Ali Walsh to bite down and trade.

Two-way action spilled into round two. Both fighters landed left hooks at close range though Ali Walsh appeared to get the better of the exchange. Akale was disciplined by the referee for throwing and landing a shot after the bell.

Ali Walsh connected with a left hook at center ring in round three. Akale took the shot well, crouched and smothered Ali Walsh as he landed a right hand in the corner.

The squat style of Akale worked to his detriment in a wild round four. The scrappy middleweight was too wide on the windup for a right hand, which Ali Walsh met with a counter left hook to buckle his knees. Akale was briefly stunned but rode out the storm and landed his share of power shots in the closing seconds of the round.

Akale continued to apply heavy pressure in the sixth and final round. Ali Walsh landed shots up top but offered minimal movement and made for an easy target for Akale to hunt down, even if he didn’t always land.

The aggression was enough for Akale to post the biggest win of his career as he advanced to 8-1 (4KOs). The feat came two months after he suffered an upset stoppage defeat to veteran spoiler Cameron Krael in his Saint Paul, Minnesota hometown.

Ali Walsh fell to 8-1 (5KOs) with the defeat, which came two days after the previous blemish on his record was invalidated by the Nevada commission. A May 20 split draw in Las Vegas was changed to a No-Contest during the commission’s monthly agenda meeting on Thursday after it was learned that Danny Rosenberger tested positive for accelerated levels of testosterone.

The ruling allowed Ali Walsh to enter Saturday’s bout with his perfect ring ledger restored, though all for naught as he lost outright to a more active and determined foe.

Jake Donovan is a senior writer for BoxingScene.com. Twitter: @JakeNDaBox