Muhammad Ali’s daughter Laila Ali has revealed how before she decided to become a boxer that her father tried everything in his psychology abilities to stop her from following through with the decision to box.

Ali was known as been a compassionate and caring man during his time on this Earth, as well as a brilliant fighter in the ring.

This ability to switch it on and off in and out of the ring, coupled with his sheer brilliance as a human being, perhaps make him one of the most famous people in the history of the world.

One of his daughters Laila Ali went on to become a female boxing world champion in her own right.

Ffor the first time she has opened up about what her father Muhammad told her when she came to him with the idea to fight:

Speaking to Larry Kind, Laila said:

“I remember the first time we had a conversation about it and he tried to talk me out of it indirectly the way that you would a stubborn child, so he tried to use reverse psychology on me. Do you understand the amount of pressure? Well, what’s going to happen if you get knocked down in the ring and everybody is watching you? Well, what if you get knocked out?”

Laila added:

“Finally he went, ‘okay’ and he was supportive.”

Well, she went on to do very well to be fair.

Perhaps this was one of the few times that Muhammad Ali was ever wrong but understandably so – as a parent wanting to protect their child.