Revenge does not have an expiration date, and it seems Muhammad Ali’s ex-wife is still out to get hers.
Khalilah Ali, the second wife of the boxing legend, sparked outrage on Feb. 2 when she declared her support for heavyweight champion Claressa Shields. She has all the hope that the 29-year-old may one day go to battle with another boxing legend, her former husband’s successor, daughter Laila Ali.
A video circulated online shows the 74-year-old Khalilah telling someone out of the camera’s view, “I’m backing her up to kick Laila’s a–. … I’ll take her to Dubai to kick Laila’s a–. She’s my hero. … Laila’s mama went with my husband. Payback time, payback time. Yeah, I want everybody to know it.”
The person recording found the humor in her inflammatory comments, but social media users did not.
One person asked on Threads, “How is Laila responsible for what her mama did?” Another reaction reads, “It’s not going to happen and I see why he cheated u don’t even have faith in his boxing to underestimate his daughter.”
While a third individual typed, “This old and bitter wishing harm on a child who had nothing to do with YOUR husbands infidelity. weird.”
In the Feb. 2 fight, Shields defeated her opponent, Danielle Perkins, admitting “That girl was strong as hell,” in her post-match interview. She also revealed she plans to get in the ring two more times this year, possibly with a member of the Ali family.
“It’s always on the table if Cris Cyborg or Laila Ali wanna fight,” Shields said.
Laila, who has a record of 21 knockouts and 24 matches, has been retired since 2007, though she and Shields have exchanged barbs publicly over the younger boxer’s declaration of being the greatest female fighter in the sport’s history.
Khalilah and the GOAT were married from 1967 to 1976 and share four children: Maryum born in 1968, twins Jamillah and Rasheda born in 1970 and Muhammad Jr., born in 1972. The former lovers shared a friendship for more than a decade before marrying when Khalilah was just 17.
Ali also fathered a daughter Miya in 1972 with Patricia Harvell and another daughter, Khaliah, in 1974 with then-16-year-old Wanda Bolton.
Calling out an old Laila Ali is nasty work
— PAPE (@papilongpape) February 3, 2025
Ali’s first wife is Sonji Clay-Glover. They married in 1964 and divorced two years later, following his conversion to Islam, which is said to have been influenced by Khalilah, whom he had been romantically involved with.
However, as it pertains to cheating, Khalilah admitted in a past interview that she had to make peace with the fact that Ali courted several women throughout the marriage, including two he later married.
“It wasn’t’ only Veronica [Porché Ali] I had a problem with. Lonnie [Yolanda Williams] was another one. Lonnie was going with my husband too to get money, but those two was the only ones that were relentless and just wouldn’t move, wouldn’t budge,” Khalilah explained, alleging that her ex even sought her input as he learned that he had fathered children outside of the marriage.
“They would not move. … And see, Muhammad didn’t hide anything,” she continued later noting, “He’s just a person who had weaknesses.”
The devout Muslim also claimed that she organized travel for Ali’s girlfriends and their children when he fought George Foreman in the 1974 “Rumble in the Jungle” in Zaire.
For Khalilah, the fight would be her last, having supported the athlete along his journey to become the greatest champion of all time.
“This is a holy war for me,” she told him. It was during that trip that Laila’s mother, Veronica, and the legendary boxer wed in a private ceremony despite his existing marriage to his second wife.
Veronica and Ali formally married in 1977, shortly after his and Khalilah’s divorce. They welcomed their first child, Hana, in 1976 and Laila the following year. The pair divorced in 1986, the same year he married his final wife, Lonnie. The two never welcomed biological children but adopted a son named Asad.
Ali died in 2016 of an ailment related to his long battle with Parkinson’s disease. He was 74.
