Laila Amaria Ali (born December 30, 1977) is an American television personality and retired professional boxer 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 titles, and the IWBF light heavyweight 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.
Early life
Laila Amaria Ali was born December 30, 1977, in Miami Beach, Florida, the daughter of boxer Muhammad Ali and his third wife, Veronica Porché. Her parents divorced when she was nine years old. She was raised as a Muslim, but later left Islam 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's Santa Monica College 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 interview with Diane Sawyer. 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 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 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's daughter, Freeda Foreman, or Joe Frazier'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.
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. This fight was part of the undercard for the fight in which Mike Tyson 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. 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 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 back in 1967. On December 17, 2005, in Berlin, 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, 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
ResultRecordOpponentTypeRound, timeDateLocationNotes24Win24–0Gwendolyn O'NeilTKO1 (10), Feb 3, 200723Win23–0Shelley BurtonTKO4 (10), Nov 11, 200622Win22–0Åsa SandellTKO5 (10), Dec 17, 200521Win21–0Erin ToughillTKO3 (10), Jun 11, 200520Win20–0Cassandra GeiggarTKO8 (10), Feb 11, 200519Win19–0Gwendolyn O'NeilKO3 (10), Sep 24, 200418Win18–0Monica NunezTKO9 (10), Jul 30, 200417Win17–0Nikki EplionTKO4 (10), Jul 17, 200416Win16–0Christy MartinKO4 (10), Aug 23, 200315Win15–0Valerie MahfoodTKO6 (8), June 21, 200314Win14–0Mary Ann AlmagerTKO4 (10), Feb 14, 200313Win13–0Valerie MahfoodTKO8 (10), Nov 8, 200212Win12–0Suzette TaylorTKO2 (10), Aug 17, 200211Win11–0Shirvelle WilliamsUD6Jun 7, 200210Win10–0Jacqui Frazier-Lyde8Jun 8, 20019Win9–0Christine RobinsonTKO5 (6), Mar 2, 20018Win8–0Kendra Lenhart6Oct 20, 20007Win7–0Marjorie JonesTKO1 (6), Jun 15, 20006Win6–0Kristina KingTKO4 (4), Apr 22, 20005Win5–0Karen BillTKO3 (4), Apr 8, 20004Win4–0Crystal ArcandKO1 (4), Mar 7, 20003Win3–0Nicolyn ArmstrongTKO2 (4), Dec 10, 19992Win2–0Shadina Pennybaker4 (4), Nov 11, 19991Win1–0April Fowler1 (4), Oct 8, 1999
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 sitcoms One on One and Girlfriends. In early 2002, Ali appeared in a boxing role for the music video "Deny" by Canadian hard rock band Default.Weiss, Neal Yahoo! Music (April 7, 2002). Retrieved on 3–24–10. The video gained airplay on music channels including MTV2 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; 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 for their 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 Week # Dance / Song Judges' scores ResultInabaGoodmanTonioli1Foxtrot / "How Sweet It Is (To Be Loved by You)"788No Elimination2Mambo / "Maracaibo Oriental"999Safe3Tango / "Goldfinger"777Safe4Paso Doble / "Les Toreadors"777Safe5Rumba / "Put Your Records On"9109Safe6Cha-Cha-Cha / "Hold on, I'm Comin'"9910Safe7Quickstep / "Part-Time Lover"Samba / "Brazil"10109 101010Safe8Waltz / "May Each Day"Jive / "Bad, Bad Leroy Brown"999899Safe9Semi-finalsQuickstep / "Walk Like an Egyptian"Cha-Cha-Cha / "She's a Lady"101010101010Safe10FinalsPaso Doble / "España Cani"Freestyle / "Shake Your Body (Down to the Ground)"Mambo / "Maracaibo Oriental"10910981010910Third Place
Ali hosted the revival of American Gladiators alongside Hulk Hogan. The show premiered in January 2008. Ali and the cast of American Gladiators appeared on the NBC show Celebrity Family Feud (Roker) in an episode that aired on July 8, 2008. Ali joined the CBS team as a contributing correspondent on The Early Show with her first appearance in early January 2008.
She hosted The N's Student Body, a reality show on The N. Ali also appeared in a 2007 episode of Yo Gabba Gabba!, 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 commercial with a tag line, "I box to win; I shop to win.". Ali was a contestant on the NBC 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 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 filling in for Giuliana Rancic, 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.