Laila Amaria Ali (born December 30, 1977) is an American television personality and retired

professional boxer Professional boxing, or prizefighting, is regulated, sanctioned boxing. Professional boxing bouts are fought for a purse that is divided between the boxers as determined by contract. Most professional fights are supervised by a regulatory auth ...

who competed from 1999 to 2007. During her career, from which she retired undefeated, she held the WBC, WIBA, IWBF and IBA female

super middleweight Super middleweight, or light cruiserweight, is a weight class in combat sports. Boxing In professional boxing, super middleweight is contested between the middleweight and light heavyweight divisions, in which boxers can weigh between 160 pounds ( ...

titles, and the IWBF

light heavyweight Light heavyweight is a weight class in combat sports. Boxing Professional In professional boxing, the division is above and up to , falling between super middleweight and cruiserweight (boxing), cruiserweight. The light heavyweight class has ...

title. Ali is widely regarded by many within the sport as one of the greatest female professional boxers of all time. She is the daughter of boxer

Muhammad Ali Muhammad Ali (; born Cassius Marcellus Clay Jr.; January 17, 1942 – June 3, 2016) was an American professional boxer and social activist. A global cultural icon, widely known by the nickname "The Greatest", he is often regarded as the gr ...

Early life

Laila Amaria Ali was born December 30, 1977, in

Miami Beach, Florida Miami Beach is a coastal resort city in Miami-Dade County, Florida, United States. It is part of the Miami metropolitan area of South Florida. The municipality is located on natural and human-made barrier islands between the Atlantic Ocean ...

, the daughter of boxer

and his third wife, Veronica Porché. Her parents divorced when she was nine years old. She was raised as a

Muslim Muslims () are people who adhere to Islam, a Monotheism, monotheistic religion belonging to the Abrahamic religions, Abrahamic tradition. They consider the Quran, the foundational religious text of Islam, to be the verbatim word of the God ...

, but later left

Islam Islam is an Abrahamic religions, Abrahamic monotheistic religion based on the Quran, and the teachings of Muhammad. Adherents of Islam are called Muslims, who are estimated to number Islam by country, 2 billion worldwide and are the world ...

despite her father's initial disapproval. Ali was a manicurist at age 16. Her turbulent childhood of arrests and abuse led to her to living in a group home for girls. She graduated from

California California () is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States that lies on the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. It borders Oregon to the north, Nevada and Arizona to the east, and shares Mexico–United States border, an ...

Santa Monica College Santa Monica College (SMC) is a Public university, public community college in Santa Monica, California. Founded as a Junior college#United States, junior college in 1929, SMC enrolls over 30,000 students in more than 90 fields of study. The coll ...

with a business degree. She owned her own nail salon before she began boxing. According to Ali, her father opposed her decision to become a boxer due to his Muslim faith; in an interview she said, "My father first of all, did not believe that women should be boxing. My father was Muslim, I'm not. He was a little bit of a male chauvinist in a way."

Boxing career

Ali began boxing when she was 18 years old, after having first noticed women's boxing when watching a Christy Martin fight. She first publicized her decision to become a professional boxer in a ''

Good Morning America ''Good Morning America'', often abbreviated as ''GMA'', is an American breakfast television, morning television program that is broadcast on American Broadcasting Company, ABC. It debuted on November 3, 1975, and first expanded to weekends wit ...

'' interview with

Diane Sawyer Lila Diane Sawyer (; born December 22, 1945) is an American television broadcast journalist known for anchoring major programs on two networks including ''ABC World News Tonight'', ''Good Morning America'', ''20/20 (U.S. TV series), 20/20'', and ...

. When she first told her father, Muhammad Ali that she was planning to box professionally, he was unhappy about her entering such a dangerous profession. In her first match, on October 8, 1999, the , , 21-year-old Ali boxed April Fowler of Michigan City, Indiana. They fought at the Turning Stone Resort & Casino on the

Oneida Indian Nation The Oneida Indian Nation (OIN) ( ) is a federally recognized tribe of Oneida people in the United States. The tribe is headquartered in Verona, New York, where the tribe originated and held territory prior to European colonialism, and continues ...

in Verona, New York. Although this was Ali's first match, many journalists and fans attended, largely because she was Muhammad Ali's daughter. Attention to Ali's ring debut was further boosted because it occurred on the eve of what was supposed to be the first male-female professional bout ever to be sanctioned by a US state boxing commission – later ruled an exhibition. As WomenBoxing.com explains: "The near-alignment of the two events focused more attention on female professional boxing than there had been since Christy Martin's 1996

pay-per-view Pay-per-view (PPV) is a type of pay television or webcast service that enables a viewer to pay to watch individual events via private telecast. Events can be purchased through a multichannel television platform using their electronic program ...

fight with Deirdre Gogarty." Ali knocked out Fowler – described by WomenBoxing.com as an "out-of-shape novice" – in the first round. Ali also won her second match by a TKO with only 3 seconds left on the clock. In that match her opponent was 5'4" Shadina Pennybaker, from Pittsburgh, who was making a pro debut after earning a 2–1 record as an amateur. They fought at the Mountaineer Casino, Racetrack and Resort in Chester, West Virginia. Ali captured nine wins in a row and many boxing fans expressed a desire to see her square off in a boxing ring with

George Foreman George Edward Foreman (January 10, 1949 – March 21, 2025) was an American professional boxer, businessman, minister, and author. In boxing, he competed between 1967 and 1997, and was nicknamed "Big George". He was a two-time world heavyweig ...

's daughter, Freeda Foreman, or

Joe Frazier Joseph William Frazier (January 12, 1944November 7, 2011) was an American professional boxer who competed from 1965 to 1981. Nicknamed "Smokin' Joe", he is widely regarded as one of the greatest heavyweight boxers of all time. He was known for ...

's daughter, Jacqui Frazier-Lyde. On the evening of June 8, 2001, Ali and Frazier finally met. The fight was nicknamed ''Ali/Frazier IV'' in allusion to their fathers' famous fight trilogy. Ali won by a majority judges' decision in eight rounds (79–73, 77–75, 76–76). Frazier-Lyde ended the fight with a swollen eye while Ali had a fractured left collarbone and a bloodied nose. This match by Ali and Frazier was the first main-event pay-per-view match between two women. After a year's hiatus, on June 7, 2002, Ali beat Shirvelle Williams in a six-round decision. Laila Ali at Heart Truth 2011

She won the IBA title with a second-round knockout of Suzette Taylor on August 17, 2002, in Las Vegas. On November 8, she retained that title and unified the crown by adding the WIBA and IWBF belts with an eight-round TKO win over her division's other world champion, Valerie Mahfood, in Las Vegas. Ali stopped a bloodied Mahfood in eight rounds. On June 21, 2003, Mahfood and Ali fought a rematch, this time in Los Angeles. Once again bloodied by Ali, Mahfood lost by TKO in six rounds while trying to recover her world title. Nevertheless, Ali suffered a bad cut on her right eyelid for the first time in her career, inflicted by Mahfood. Ali also suffered a bloodied nose for the second time in her career during this fight, the first being in Ali's fight with Frazier-Lyde two years previously. On August 23, 2003, Ali fought her original inspiration, Christy Martin, beating Martin by a knockout in four rounds. On July 17, 2004, Ali retained her world title, knocking out Nikki Eplion in four rounds. On July 30, 2004, she stopped Monica Nunez in nine rounds, in her father's native city of

Louisville, Kentucky Louisville is the List of cities in Kentucky, most populous city in the Commonwealth of Kentucky, sixth-most populous city in the Southeastern United States, Southeast, and the list of United States cities by population, 27th-most-populous city ...

. This fight was part of the

undercard In sports, a card lists the matches taking place in a title match combat-sport event. Cards include a main event match and the undercard listing the rest of the matches. The undercard may be divided into a midcard and a lower card, according to ...

for the fight in which

Mike Tyson Michael Gerard Tyson (born June 30, 1966) is an American former professional boxer who competed between 1985 and 2024. Nicknamed "Iron Mike" and "Kid Dynamite" in his early career, and later known as "the Baddest Man on the Planet", Tyson i ...

was surprisingly knocked out by fringe contender Danny Williams. On September 24, 2004, Ali added the IWBF Light Heavyweight title to her resume by beating Gwendolyn O'Neil (whom she had earlier canceled a fight against) by a knockout in three rounds, at

Atlanta, Georgia Atlanta ( ) is the List of capitals in the United States, capital and List of municipalities in Georgia (U.S. state), most populous city in the U.S. state of Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia. It is the county seat, seat of Fulton County, Georg ...

. On February 1, 2005, in Atlanta, Ali scored a commanding and decisive eighth-round technical knockout over Cassandra Geiggar in a ten-round fight. On June 11, 2005, on the undercard to the Tyson- Kevin McBride fight, Ali defeated Erin Toughill in round three to remain undefeated and won the

World Boxing Council The World Boxing Council (WBC) is an international professional boxing organization. It is among the four major organizations which sanction professional boxing bouts, alongside the World Boxing Association (WBA), International Boxing Federation ...

title in addition to defending her WIBA crown. She was the second woman to win a WBC title ( Jackie Nava was the first). Toughill and Ali disliked each other, and prior to the fight Toughill joked about Ali. Ali promised she would punish Toughill, much like her father did with

Ernie Terrell Ernest Terrell (April 4, 1939 – December 16, 2014) was an American professional boxer who competed from 1957 to 1973. He held the World Boxing Association's heavyweight title from 1965 to 1967, and was one of the tallest heavyweights of his era ...

back in 1967. On December 17, 2005, in

Berlin Berlin ( ; ) is the Capital of Germany, capital and largest city of Germany, by both area and List of cities in Germany by population, population. With 3.7 million inhabitants, it has the List of cities in the European Union by population withi ...

, Ali fought and defeated Åsa Sandell by TKO in the fifth round. Following Ali's hard right to Sandell's face with 17 seconds remaining in Round 5, Sandell was struck by numerous undefended shots to her head. The referee stopped the bout with 12 seconds remaining. Muhammad Ali was in attendance and kissed his daughter. While a guest on ''Quite Frankly with Stephen A. Smith'' on June 7, 2006, Ali announced that she would be making a world tour, and said that she was looking forward to fighting Ann Wolfe in October 2006. However, the fight with Wolfe never materialized. Instead, on November 11, 2006, Ali fought and defeated Shelley Burton by TKO in the fourth round. Ali was rescheduled to fight O'Neil in

Cape Town Cape Town is the legislature, legislative capital city, capital of South Africa. It is the country's oldest city and the seat of the Parliament of South Africa. Cape Town is the country's List of municipalities in South Africa, second-largest ...

, on August 5, 2006, but Ali pulled out amid allegations of fraud. The match eventually took place in South Africa on February 2, 2007. Ali defeated O'Neil in the first-round by technical knockout. It was Ali's last professional fight.

Professional boxing record

Championships and accomplishments

* 2012: AOCA Awakening Outstanding Contribution Award * 2005/2007: WBC World Super Middleweight title (two defenses) * 2002/2007: WIBA World Super Middleweight title (five defenses) * 2004: IWBF Female Light Heavyweight title * 2002/2004: IWBF Female Super Middleweight title (two defenses) * 2002/2004: IBA Female Super Middleweight title (four defenses)

Television work

In 2000, Ali played herself in an episode of '' The Jersey'' called "Bat Girl" in which Morgan Hudson (played by Courtnee Draper) turns to her in order to get a little more of a perspective as she learns the true meaning of girl power. In 2002, she appeared as herself on the

UPN The United Paramount Network (UPN) was an American broadcast television network that operated from 1995 to 2006. It was originally a joint venture between Chris-Craft Industries (later sold to News Corporation)'s subsidiary, United Television, ...

sitcoms '' One on One'' and '' Girlfriends''. In early 2002, Ali appeared in a boxing role for the

music video A music video is a video that integrates a song or an album with imagery that is produced for promotion (marketing), promotional or musical artistic purposes. Modern music videos are primarily made and used as a music marketing device intended to ...

" Deny" by Canadian

hard rock Hard rock or heavy rock is a heavier subgenre of rock music typified by aggressive vocals and Distortion (music), distorted electric guitars. Hard rock began in the mid-1960s with the Garage rock, garage, Psychedelic rock, psychedelic and blues ...

band Default. The video gained airplay on music channels including

MTV2 MTV2 (formerly M2) is an American pay television Cable television, channel owned by the Paramount Media Networks division of Paramount Global, through PMN’s MTV Entertainment Group Subdivision. The channel launched initially as an all-music ...

and MMUSA. In 2004, Ali appeared on the '' George Lopez'' show, where she owned a gym, as well as on '' Real Husbands of Hollywood''. In mid-2007, Ali was a participant in season four of the American version of the television show ''

Dancing with the Stars ''Strictly Come Dancing (widely known as Dancing with the Stars)'' is an international television franchise based on the format of the British TV series '' Strictly Come Dancing,'' itself a successor to the show ''Come Dancing'' (1950–1998) ...

''; she had no previous dancing experience. She and her professional dancing partner, Maksim Chmerkovskiy, were widely praised by the judges, receiving the first "10" from judge

Len Goodman Leonard Gordon Goodman (25 April 1944 – 22 April 2023) was an English professional ballroom dancer, dance teacher, and dance competition adjudicator. He appeared as head judge on the UK television programme ''Strictly Come Dancing'' – in w ...

for their

rumba The term rumba may refer to a variety of unrelated music styles. Originally, "rumba" was used as a synonym for "party" in northern Cuba, and by the late 19th century it was used to denote the complex of secular music styles known as Cuban rumba ...

. They came in third place in the competition, losing to Apolo Anton Ohno (with Julianne Hough) and Joey Fatone (with Kym Johnson). ''Dancing with the Stars'' performances Ali hosted the revival of '' American Gladiators'' alongside

Hulk Hogan Terry Gene Bollea (; born August 11, 1953), better known by his ring name Hulk Hogan, is an American retired Professional wrestling, professional wrestler. He is signed to WWE as a brand ambassador. Known for his flamboyance and massive physiq ...

. The show premiered in January 2008. Ali and the cast of ''American Gladiators'' appeared on the

NBC The National Broadcasting Company (NBC) is an American commercial broadcast television and radio network serving as the flagship property of the NBC Entertainment division of NBCUniversal, a subsidiary of Comcast. It is one of NBCUniversal's ...

show ''

Celebrity Family Feud ''Celebrity Family Feud'' is a broadcast network spin-off (media), spin-off of the broadcast syndication, syndicated American game show ''Family Feud''. Like the primetime ''All-Star Specials'' aired during the late 1970s and early 1980s by the s ...

'' (

Roker Roker ( ) is a seaside resort in Sunderland, city of Sunderland district, Tyne and Wear. England. It is located north of the River Wear and Monkwearmouth, east of the southern part of Fulwell with the coastal resort of Seaburn to its nort ...

) in an episode that aired on July 8, 2008. Ali joined the CBS team as a contributing correspondent on ''

The Early Show ''The Early Show'' is an American morning television show that aired on CBS from November 1, 1999, to January 7, 2012, replacing the original incarnation of '' CBS This Morning'', and the ninth attempt at a morning news-talk program by the n ...

'' with her first appearance in early January 2008. She hosted '' The N's Student Body'', a reality show on

The N The N (standing for Noggin) was a prime time and late-night block programming, programming block on the Noggin (brand), Noggin television channel, aimed at preteens and teenagers. It was launched on April 1, 2002, by MTV Networks and Sesame Works ...

. Ali also appeared in a 2007 episode of ''

Yo Gabba Gabba! ''Yo Gabba Gabba!'' is a Children's television series, children's Musical film, musical television series created by Christian Jacobs and Scott Schultz (producer), Scott Schultz and developed by Kay Wilson Stallings. The series is about five cos ...

'', titled "Train", in a brief dance number, and on ''Love That Girl'', episode 3.4, "Fighting Shape". In 2012, Ali was picked to co-host '' Everyday Health'' with Ethan Zohn and Jenna Morasca. The show aired on ABC Saturday mornings and profiled everyday people living with health issues, who aspired to not let their issues keep them from helping others or doing extraordinary things. The show lasted for one season. Also in 2012, Ali appeared in a

Kohl's Kohl's Corporation (Kohl's is stylized in all caps) is an American department store retail chain store, chain. currently has 1,165 locations, operating stores in every U.S. state except Hawaii. The company was founded by Polish immigrant Maxwe ...

commercial with a tag line, "I box to win; I shop to win.". Ali was a contestant on the

celebrity reality competition series called '' Stars Earn Stripes'' from August 2012 to September 2012. On February 4, 2013, Ali appeared on the NBC reality series, ''

The Biggest Loser ''The Biggest Loser'' is a reality television format which started with the American TV show ''The Biggest Loser (American TV series), The Biggest Loser'' in 2004. The show centers on overweight and Obesity, obese contestants attempting to lose ...

'' in the episode "Lead By Example". In the episode, she boxed alongside Dolvett Quince's team, consisting of Jackson Carter, Joe Ostaszewski and Francelina Morillo. In March 2013, Ali started appearing as a co-host on multiple episodes of the E! talk show series ''

Fashion Police ''Fashion Police'' is an American television series that premiered on September 10, 2010, on E!. It was originally hosted by Joan Rivers and featured panelists George Kotsiopoulos, Giuliana Rancic, and Kelly Osbourne commenting on celebrity f ...

'' filling in for

Giuliana Rancic Giuliana Rancic (; ; born August 17, 1974) is an Italian-born American Entertainment journalism, entertainment reporter and television personality. She is a co-anchor of ''E! News'' and resides in Chicago and Los Angeles. Early life Rancic was bo ...

, who was on maternity leave. In May 2013, Ali once again filled in for Rancic, who had other commitments and was unable to attend the show. In May 2014, Ali participated in an episode of '' Celebrity Wife Swap''. She swapped places with singer

Angie Stone Angela Laverne Stone (née Brown; December 18, 1961 – March 1, 2025) was an American singer-songwriter, rapper, actress, and record producer. With a career spanning over four decades, she has been credited with revolutionizing the sound of Ol ...

and tried to instill healthier habits on the family. In April 2013, Ali participated in two episodes of '' Chopped: All Stars'', making it to the final round, competing for a favorite charity. In September 2013, Ali began hosting ''All In with Laila Ali'', a new show in the CBS Saturday morning lineup " CBS Dream Team". The following year, she began hosting ''Late Night Chef Fight'' on the cable network FYI. In 2014, she appeared in the film '' Falcon Rising''. She was a participant of '' The New Celebrity Apprentice'' (also known as '' The Apprentice 15'' and '' The Celebrity Apprentice 8'') but terminated after 11th task. Laila Ali WHTA interview 2024

Since 2017, Ali has been the host of the DIY series ''Home Made Simple'' on the

Oprah Winfrey Network The Oprah Winfrey Network (OWN, also known as the OWN Network) is an American multinational basic cable television network which launched on January 1, 2011, effectively replacing the Discovery Health Channel, which one month later merged with ...

. In 2019, Ali participated in the second season of '' The Masked Singer'' as "Panda". She was eliminated at the end of her episode. Before her official unmasking, Panda was jokingly revealed to be

Homer Simpson Homer Jay Simpson is the main protagonist of the American animated television series ''The Simpsons'' who is part of the titular family. Homer made his television debut in the short " Good Night" on '' The Tracey Ullman Show'' on April 19, ...

in a promotion for ''

The Simpsons ''The Simpsons'' is an American animated sitcom created by Matt Groening and developed by Groening, James L. Brooks and Sam Simon for the Fox Broadcasting Company. It is a Satire (film and television), satirical depiction of American life ...

'', another primetime FOX series. In 2020, Ali voiced herself in the ''

Scooby-Doo and Guess Who? ''Scooby-Doo and Guess Who?'' is an American animated television series produced by Warner Bros. Animation and Chris Bailey and the thirteenth television series in the ''Scooby-Doo'' franchise. The show first premiered on Boomerang's SVOD s ...

'' episode "The Crown Jewel of Boxing."

Personal life

In 2002, she wrote (with co-author David Ritz) the book ''Reach! Finding Strength, Spirit, and Personal Power.'' In this book, she confides that she felt isolated at times because of her father's fame. Ali has also spent some time in jail, and describes her arrests and the physical abuse she experienced in jail. Ali married Johnny "Yahya" McClain on August 27, 2000. McClain became Ali's manager and helped guide her career. In late 2005, Ali and McClain divorced and McClain quit managing Ali. On July 23, 2007, Ali married former NFL player Curtis Conway in Los Angeles. They have two children together: a son born in August 2008, and a daughter born in April 2011. Ali is the stepmother of Conway's three children. Professional wrestling legend

credits Ali with saving his life by telephoning him when he was depressed and suicidal. Ali is the sister-in-law of professional mixed martial artist Kevin Casey, who is married to her sister Hana.

Bibliography

References

General sources

*NetGlimse.com (2009). ''Laila Ali – Biography'' . Retrieved October 8, 2010 fro
Laila Ali Biography, Bio, Profile, pictures, photos from Netglimse.com
*CBS Interactive (2010). ''Laila Ali FOLLOWS BOXING CAREER OF LEGENDARY FATHER MUHAMMAD ALI''. Retrieved October 10, 2010 fro
Laila Ali FOLLOWS BOXING CAREER OF LEGENDARY FATHER MUHAMMAD ALI , Jet , Find Articles at BNET
*Andrew Rooney. (2003). ''Years of Minutes''. New York: Essay Productions. Retrieved from NetLibrary database. *Boxing. (2003). In Black Firsts. Retrieved fro
Boxing , Black Firsts - Credo Reference
*Lexis Nexis. (2009). ''Laila Ali''. Retrieved from Lexis Nexis database.

External links

Laila Ali
a
Awakening Fighters
* * * *

from the

International Boxing Hall of Fame The International Boxing Hall of Fame (IBHOF), located in Canastota, New York, right next to exit 34 of the New York State Thruway, honors boxers, trainers and other contributors to the sport worldwide. Inductees are selected on ballots cre ...

, - , - {{DEFAULTSORT:Ali, Laila 1977 births 20th-century African-American sportswomen 20th-century American sportswomen Alexander Hamilton High School (Los Angeles) alumni American people of English descent American people of Irish descent American people of Malagasy descent American people of Creole descent Women's Sports Foundation executives African-American boxers African-American former Sunni Muslims American former Sunni Muslims American women boxers Light-heavyweight boxers Living people Super-middleweight boxers World boxing champions Undefeated world boxing champions Women's International Boxing Association champions World super-middleweight boxing champions Family of Muhammad Ali Santa Monica College alumni Sportspeople from Miami Beach, Florida Participants in American reality television series Manicurists 21st-century African-American sportswomen 21st-century American sportswomen