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Overwhelmed by Dark Thoughts, Muhammad Ali’s Daughter Laila Ali Threatened to ‘Jump off the Roof’ as a Child

Published 12/14/2022, 12:30 PM EST

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Former female middleweight champion and the daughter of boxing legend Muhammad Ali, Laila Ali, was not emotionally stable during her childhood. This was due to the challenges that came with being one of the many children of the most famous athlete in the country. Moreover, Laila has always been vocal about the troubles she faced during her childhood.

Many of her experiences are detailed in her multiple books sharing her story as she grew up in the heavyweight champion’s house. However, these experiences were not of joy but rather of jealousy and frustration as she revealed her childhood story.

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Laila Ali details how her mother and father met

In her book Reach!: Finding Strength, Spirit, and Personal Power she describes growing up in her father’s home in the second chapter. On the 9th page, Laila reveals how she was consumed by dark thoughts. She first detailed how her mother met her father leading them to have two kids, her and her sister Hana.

Read More: I Was a Crack Addict’: Muhammad Ali’s Son Details Life After Being Abandoned by Father at Age 5

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My mother, Veronica Porche, met Muhammad at his height, in 1974, when he beat Joe Fraizer and George Foreman. They married soon after. Mom was barely out of her teens; Dad was in his early thirties. Hana and me, the baby of the family born December 30 1977, are the only kids of Muhammad and Veronica.” she wrote.

However, Laila would then explain why she found herself making bad decisions after being affected by jealousy and animosity.

Ali once threatened her parents by wanting to harm herself

Later in the chapter, she described that she was jealous of her sister because she was more favored by her father. This eventually led her to threaten her parents claiming she would jump off the roof and kill herself. However, she then reveals that the threats were a little dramatic and she was not serious about them.

Hanna was a Daddy’s girl. I wasn’t, I was quiet and shy- my parents say I was sweet- and from time to time could be a little dramatic. I threatened to do crazy things like jump off the roof and kill myself. The threats, though, really weren’t serious. The feeling I remember most is loneliness.” she added

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via Getty

Despite being a little overdramatic, Laila was just expressing her frustrations and trying to get the attention of her parents like most children to do. However, she thankfully did not end up going through with her threats and persevered becoming a great boxer like her father.

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Written by:

Sahil Sood

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Sahil Sood is a Boxing writer at EssentiallySports. He earned his Bachelor’s degree in journalism and mass communication, and holds a keen interest in the 'sweet science'. His journey towards following boxing began when he first saw the highlights of Mike Tyson as a teenager, and then closely followed the rise of Floyd Mayweather.
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Edited by:

Arijit Saha