Like Muhammad Ali So Is Laila Ali: Both Are ChampionsThis is a story about the second daughter of Muhammad Ali's 8 daughters: Laila Ali. Muhammad Ali is the greatest boxer of all times. Jack Johnson was a great boxer and so was Jack Dempsey and Joe Louis, but none of those boxers had the grace and charisma that Muhammad Ali possessed both in the boxing ring and outside of it. Muhammad Ali is also the most popular person on the land. Joe Louis became a national hero, but Muhammad Ali became a universal celebrity. No other boxer has achieved what Muhammad Ali has accomplished in or out of the ring and that makes him the greatest of all. Muhammad Ali is the personality of the century. Laila Took Up Fighting Where Her Father Muhammad Ali Left offIf blood lineage means anything, Laila Ali not only is going to the top of her chosen sport, she is going to put on quite a show getting there. Like her famous dad, Laila Ali has quick feet, a stiff jab and preternatural self-confidence. Laila Ali has had no armature boxing experience Sharing her father's genes may bring extra skills, but they also will bring her extra secrutiny as fight fans ask if she can live up to the expectations generated by her famous name. So far Laila Ali has won all her professional fights in the women's middleweight division. Laila Ali had no interest in becoming an athlete as a child she went astray shortly after her parents divorced in 1986, once spending three months in juvenile detention for shoplifting.  Boxing Is A Great Way To Get Into ShapeLaila Ali said: When people find out that I am the daughter of Muhammad Ali, they try to take advantage, but, I never backed down from a fight yet. The second youngest of Muhammad Ali's nine children, Laila Ali got into the sport in 1999 as a form of exercise while operating a nail salon in Los Angeles to get herself fit. Boxing seemed like a good way to get into decent shape, said Laila Ali, whose mother is a former model, Veronica Porche Anderson. After watching a Christy Martin boxing match on television, Laila Ali decided to sell her nail salon business, to forgo an education at the University of Southern California business school, and commit herself to a professional boxing career. In her first professional boxing match on 8th Oct. 1999 Laila Ali, then just 21 years old, knocked out April Fowler in 31 seconds of the first round at the Turning Stone Casino Convention Centre on the Oneida Indian Nation in Verona, N.Y. Laila Struck A Pose Reminiscent Of Her Father Muhammad AliFollowing the knockout, Laila Ali struck a pose reminiscent of her father when he fought and knockout big bad Sonny Liston, Laila Ali stood over her stunned opponent with her fist cocked and a scowl on her face. Laila Ali feels quitecomfortable living from boxing in her father's shadow. My dad is the most famous man in the world, Laila Ali said. My father is the greatest boxer of all time, and I am his very proud daughter. In her second professional bout, Laila Ali scored a fourth-round technical knockout over Shadina Pennybaker on Nov .10, 1999, in Chester, W.Va., Laila Ali bloodied Pennybaker's lip and forced a standing eight count in the fourth when she knocked her foe's mouthpiece out. A flurry of combinations sent Pennybaker reeling into a corner and produced a stoppage that created waves of protest from her corner. Laila Ali taunted and talked to her opponent, and shook her head when Pennybaker landed a decent punch during the bout. |
So Far, Laila Ali is Unbeaten In The Boxing RingA crowd of 2,200 watched Laila Ali run her professional record to 3-0 with a second-round knockout Nicolyn Armstrong on Dec. 10, 1999, at the Cobo Center Riverfront Ballroom in Detroit. Laila Ali floored Armstrong late in the first round with a jab, followed by three hard rights. In the second and final round, Ali sent her opponent reeling to the canvas again, prompting an immediate stoppage by Referee Sam Williams. The unbeaten boxer improved to 4-0 with four knockouts on 7th March 2000, after scoring an opening round knockout over Crystal Arcand at Casino Windsor in Toronto, Canada. | |
