Laila Ali - Brief Article - Interview

Interview, Sept, 2000 by Juan Martin

LOOK WHO'S TAKING OVER THE FAMILY BUSINESS

When Christy "the coal miner's daughter" Martin defeated Dierdre Gogarty in an electrifying undercard to a lackluster Mike Tyson-Frank Bruno bout in 1996, professional boxing grabbed its share of the women's sports turf. Then, the daughters of boxing fathers George Foreman, Joe Frazier, and Muhammad Ali entered the ring, raising the stakes and the payoffs. Laila Ali's June 15 KO of Marjorie Jones in 68 seconds of the first round gave her a 7-0 record and, only a year after turning pro, a ranking of fifth among all women middleweights.

JUAN MARTIN: I read that one day you saw Christy Martin fighting on TV and said, "I could do that."

LAILA ALI: That was the first time I found out that women box. I pictured myself doing what they were doing, and they were boxing professionally, so that's what I had in mind.

JM: Do you train every day?

LA: I train six days a week. I get up around six and run four miles, then go to the gym and train for two or three hours.

JM: Do you do any weights or anything at all?

LA: No, I don't lift weights.

JM: Did you ever think, watching your father, that you'd end up being a boxer?

LA: No, never--it never entered my mind till I saw it in front of me. As a kid I never really paid attention to boxing unless there was a big Tyson fight or something like that.

JM: You like Mike Tyson, watching him fight?

LA: Yeah, I like Mike Tyson; I mean, most people did like Mike Tyson.

JM: What about now?

LA: I don't have a problem with Mike as far as fighting is concerned.

JM: The women's fighting game is getting better; it's no longer women just flailing away at each other, but good athletes who can fight. Was that a consideration of yours when you went into it, knowing it was a burgeoning field where you'd have a chance to make a name for yourself?

LA: I actually wanted to box amateur. But women's boxing does have a long way to go still. So I think that's why I was able to just go professional. Of course I wanna make my name--that's why I go to the gym every day. But I never ever wanted to be famous, because my dad is the most famous man in the world, and I see how he has no privacy.

JM: Do people sometimes look at you and see Muhammad Ali's daughter as opposed to all the hard work that you've done?

LA: Well, a lot of people don't really respect boxing, respect what we go through as athletes to prepare ourselves for each fight.

JM: Hasn't your dad's name opened some doors for you, though?

LA: Well, my name is always gonna open doors. I can't help that, and of course I'm gonna walk through them. I'm not gonna say, "Oh no, I'm trying to prove a point." Of course I'm gonna get paid more, of course I'm gonna get more attention, but a lot of responsibility comes with that. Not everybody could handle what I go through--being in the public eye, speaking at fundraisers for kids--not everyone has the personality.

JM: What do you think of those who say women's boxing is kind of a joke?

LA: I'm not gonna be the one to change their minds, you know what I'm saying? Some people are never gonna get used to the idea--men who don't like seeing powerful women. And women who think it's unladylike. If you don't like it, basically what it comes down to is you don't watch it.

JM: Boxing has been plagued by corruption from all these money-under-the-table and boxing commission scandals.

LA: That's just how it is. I'm not saying that I agree with it, but there's always gonna be room for that because there're just so many characters, and that's what's gonna happen. Times are changing, boxing is changing, but there's always been corruption.

JM: How do you try to avoid it?

LA: I can avoid it as far as being involved with it. That's one of the reasons I didn't go amateur, because you don't have as much control. I'm not with any promoter; I'm a free agent, basically, and I fight when I wanna fight.

JM: You said your dad did a lot of things wrong when he fought. What do you do to avoid mistakes he may have made in the ring?

LA: I don't try to avoid them--everyone makes their own mistakes; everyone has their own bad habits. My dad was the greatest, but boxing has evolved so much. He fought before a lot of the fighters had the excellent defensive skills they have now. He could get away with things you're now taught not to do.

JM: Have your mother and father been supportive of you in this?

LA: Both of them, yeah. The main thing my dad gives me is life advice, just how to deal with people, how to deal with being in the public eye, not letting it go to your head.

JM: It seems like you started a trend, with all these famous daughters--Freeda Foreman, George Foreman's daughter, Irichelle Duran, Roberto Duran's daughter--stepping into the ring.

LA: Archie Moore's daughter was actually the first to fight. Everyone's gonna have their own reasons--you never know, these are the daughters of fighters. One out of four could've really wanted to box but never had the courage.

JM: And they see you...

LA: I knew other women were gonna start fighting when I started fighting. Not only 'cause they wanna fight, because a lot of 'em wanna fight me.