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. 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.
On March 7, 2000 in Windsor, Ontario Laila remained unbeaten as she scored a first round knockout of Crystal Arcand in a scheduled four-round bout at the Casino Windsor. She is now 4-0 (4KO). Her fight with Arcand lasted 70 seconds. Ali came out aggressively from the opening bell and floored Arcand, who was making her pro debut. Go here for a complete report about Laila
On April 8, 2000, in Detroit, as Laila Ali's famous father sat at ringside, Ali won her fifth straight fight against Karen Bill (1-4), a 166 lb. fighter from Oklahoma City. Bill is the first fighter to deliver a knockdown to Laila Ali in the second round of the fight. Laila won by a TKO in the third round. As one news source reported, "Ali, clearly the more stylish fighter, scored with several rights in the first round, but Bill landed a solid right just before the bell that let Ali know - for the first time in her brief career - that she was in for a real fight."
On April 22, 2000 in Guangzhou, China Ali TKO'd Kristina King News sources reported that Laila Ali bloodied Kristina King's face with a series of punches and stopped her in the fourth round to remain undefeated in six fights.
Ali, daughter of Muhammad Ali, outclassed King, a prison guard and SWAT team member who was making only her second appearance in the ring. She had won her only previous fight. The referee stopped the bout 37 seconds into the fourth round.
On June 15, 2000, Laila KO'd a 48-year old woman, Majorie Jones 68 seconds in the first round. Her record 7-0 with 7KO's. Many boxing folks talked very openly about this "mismatch." This fight was nominated as the "worst" mismatch of the year on WBAN."
There were no knockdowns, and by the sixth round both fighters had slowed slightly with Lenhart looking like she had taken the worst end of the deal. I had Laila ahead, winning four rounds out of the six. Laila Ali won by a unanimous decision, 58-56, 58-56, 60-54, and she has improved her record to 8-0 (7KO). Lenhart has fallen to 6-8-1.