“My Discomfort Was Subtle”: Laila Ali Revealed the Ugly Truth About Being Raised by Muhammad Ali in Her Book ‘Reach!’

Former female middleweight champion Laila Ali followed in her father, Muhammad Ali’s footsteps, becoming a world champion. However, the two were not close as in real life despite being very similar in the way they conduct themselves and their profession.

Laila was one of Ali’s two daughters but was never the favorite like her sister Hanna. This led to Laila developing some animosity towards her parents, especially her father after she revealed that she felt uncomfortable around ‘The People’s Champ’.

Laila Ali reveals she did not feel comfortable around Muhammad Ali

In her book Reach!: Finding Strength, Spirit, and Personal Power she revealed that she had a subtle discomfort when she was around her parents on the ninth page of the second chapter. Moreover, she even stated that she had not developed a relationship with Muhammad as she did with her mother.

“My discomfort was subtle. In many ways, my parents were wonderful, which made my own conflicted feelings about them even more confusing. Above the conflicts, the fundamental fact of my childhood is this: I was never that close to my father. I was never as comfortable with him as I was with Mom” she wrote.

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This was not all as she also went on to explain why her relationship with her father got fractured during her childhood.

Laila details the ugly truth behind her fragile relationship with her father

Later on in the chapter, she explained that the former heavyweight champion liked to be the center of attention. However, she claimed that her father would involve her as well in his quest to garner attention from his friends, which was unacceptable to her. She added that she did not take part in a conversation with strangers just because they were her father’s friends.

“ He was cool in this context because he liked being the center of attention. By calling me to him, he drew me into that center, which is exactly where I didn’t want to be. I looked around at this roomful of strangers. Yes, I wanted attention, but not from people I didn’t know. Who were they? Were they real or fake?” she added

This goes on to show that despite being the daughter of one of the most famous people in the world, Laila still did not lead a perfect life. Moreover, she was forced to be burdened by the pressure that comes with being Muhammad’s daughter.

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