|
| |
|
|
|
|
| |
|
|
| |
Laila Ali made her ring debut on
October 8, 1999, at the Turning Stone
Casino Convention Center on the Oneida Indian Nation,
in Verona, New York.
Laila insisted that the press did not video this
fight. Her opponent, April Fowler, was a 0-1 fighter, who worked as a
waitress.
Ali, who had no previous kickboxing experience, and
had never fought as an amateur gained International attention—not due to
her own making, but the fact that she was the daughter of Muhammad
Ali. No one knew at the time if
the her famous father, Muhammad Ali would make an appearance for his daughter's debut, but he
stole the show when he walked into the Casino that night!Laila Ali originally was
set to make her pro debut at the Orleans Casino, in Las Vegas,
Nevada, in March of 1999, but it never did take place.
Mary Ann Owen and TL Fox were covering the Hannah
"The Vegas" Fox vs. Fredia
"The Cheetah" Gibbs, January 15, 1999, when Ali
got center stage in the ring, when the ring announcer introduced Laila.
The crowd roared when it was announced that she was going to start boxing.
The prospect of having a daughter of one of the most famous boxer's in the
world fight, was something many thought would give women's boxing the
punch it needed to get in the main stream. |
|
| |
The anticipation of Laila Ali making her pro debut
was an understatement. She received more press than any other
woman boxer, other than the Diedre Gogarty vs. Christy
Martin fight in 1996, when they outclassed the main event - Tyson
on that card, and the mixed match between Margaret
MacGregor vs Loi Chow, that were fighting one night after Laila's
pro debut!
|
|
| |
Unfortunately, the October 8th debut, received a lot of bad press and
disappointment. Photographs of Laila's opponent, looked more like
April Fowler should be stepping into a weight loss clinic, not a
ring. It did not take a boxing expert to figure out that Fowler was
no match for any boxer ---whether the fighter was making a pro debut or
not!
After Laila's pro debut, she told the press that she
did her father "proud." She also said that she would knock
out every one of her opponent's and that it was a promise.
Ali is NOW a multi-World Champion as a
Super-Middleweight for the IBA, WIBA, IWBF, and has successfully defended
her IBA title several times.
To check out huge digital
photos and Ali's complete boxing records, you can sign up for the WBAN
Members Record site!
|
|
| |
|
|
| |
|
|
| |
|
|
| |
|
|
|
