Ali, Laila

Laila Ali is an accomplished and undefeated boxer who currently holds both the Women's International Boxing Association and the International Women's Boxing Federation belts. Aside from her accomplishments in the ring, 5-foot, 10-inch and 160-pound Ali is the youngest daughter of boxing legend Muhammad Ali. As a tribute to her boxing icon father, Laila Ali is known as Laila “She Bee Stingin'” Ali.

Ali is the most recognized female boxer nationally and internationally. Currently, she is the second boxer to hold the International Women's Boxing Federal Super Middleweight title, the second to hold the Women in Boxing Association World Super Middleweight title, and the first woman to hold the World Boxing Council Female World Super Middle title. In addition to being a boxing champion, Ali is a humanitarian, reality television star, wife, and mother.

Born on December 30, 1977, in Miami Beach, Florida, to her celebrated boxing dad, Ali grew up around boxing but was not always headed to the ring. It wasn't until she was 18 that she saw a women's boxing match on television and found her calling. Three years later, at 21, Ali made her boxing debut against April Fowler at the Turning Stone Casino Convention Center on the Oneida Indian Nation in Verona, New York. She won that fight, easily knocking out Fowler in the first round. After winning her next eight matches, Ali stepped out of her father's shadow and proved to boxing fans and the general public that she was a boxer in her own right. She won her first International Boxing Association title after knocking out Suzette Taylor in 2002. That match also named her Fighter of the Month by Women Boxing Archive Network.

One of the most anticipated matches in recent boxing history came with Ali's fight against Jacqui Frazier-Lyde, daughter of the renowned fighter Joe Frazier, who was a fierce rival of Muhammed Ali. Many in the boxing world remembered the fierce rivalry of the two champions and viewed a match between their daughters as a grudge match between two great fighting families. In fact, the fight was called Ali vs. Frazier IV, a reference to the three boxing matches between their fathers. On June 8, 2001, Ali beat Frazier in an eight-round majority decision, firmly cementing the younger Ali in boxing history. The match was the first time in pay-per-view history that a women's boxing [Page 54]fight was not only the main event but was shown to a sold-out crowd with more than 8,000 people in attendance. Ali remains undefeated, with a 24-match record, 21 of them as knockouts.

Ali is about more than boxing. At 18, she was the owner and operator of a nail salon, and later attended Santa Monica College and earned a degree in business management before purchasing a shop selling balloons and Halloween masks.

In addition, Ali uses her name and celebrity status to call attention to her charity work and fund-raising efforts. She is involved with the Women's Sports Foundation, which encourages girls and women to actively participate in sports and physical activities. Ali has been active in helping to raise money for the organization and was named to their board of trustees. Further, Ali has partnered with Uncle Ben's rice to coordinate the Fighting Childhood Hunger campaign. She's also helped organize and cook for children of the Boys and Girls Club in the San Fernando Valley Kids Café. Ali publicly supports the American Diabetes Association in their efforts to curb childhood obesity and diabetes as well as ONE, a grassroots campaign of more than 2 million people committed to end poverty across the world.

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