In a heated exchange that has reverberated through the boxing community, Laila Ali recently stated that her late father, Muhammad Ali, would “not want to share his name or image” with Claressa Shields. She suggested that he would view Shields as “a generic wannabe,” rather than an authentic continuation of his legacy.
Laila Ali made the remarks on her podcast Laila Ali KO, where she addressed Shields’s repeated mentions of Muhammad Ali in recent commentary. She said, “My father would not want to share his name or image with her. She does not represent anything about him.”
The tension dates to when Shields publicly floated a $15 million fight offer to Ali. In response, Ali criticized Shields for dragging her father into the feud and called her praise of Muhammad Ali “detached and delusional.” “She actually praises my father while trying to trash his daughter,” Ali said, adding that Shields was “trying to tear down his very own child.”
Feud Fuels Public Dispute
Laila Ali also questioned the sincerity of Shields’s motives: “Now, what father would embrace someone like her or want to be associated with someone like her while she’s trying to tear down his very own child?” She argued that her father would have found Shields’s approach disrespectful.
Shields, for her part, has responded to the fallout. In previous remarks, she claimed Ali and her representatives had declined her fight proposal, and she interpreted that as reluctance to step into the ring with her. She said, “I have no problem with that … I wouldn’t fight me either … I understand that she’s scared.”
Shields holds an acclaimed career profile. She is the only boxer, male or female, to win undisputed titles in multiple weight classes. Meanwhile, Laila Ali remains a prominent figure — both as a former world-class boxer and as a media personality.
Despite the conflict, Laila Ali emphasized that she once expressed support for Shields’s career. She said she had no jealousy, but that “once the name of my father came into the conversation, it changed everything.”