SOUTH AFRICA: BOXING - Johannesburg press conference by Laila Ali, ready for her second attempt to fight Gwendon O'Neil in South Africa

Record ID: 452350

  • Title: SOUTH AFRICA: BOXING - Johannesburg press conference by Laila Ali, ready for her second attempt to fight Gwendon O'Neil in South Africa
  • Date: 25th January 2007
  • Summary: LAILA ARRIVING AT THE PRESS CONFERENCE MEDIA SEATED LAILA AND BOXING OFFICIALS SEATED AT THE PRESS CONFERENCE PHOTOGRAPHERS SOUNDBITE (ENGLISH) BOXER LAILA ALI SAYING : " So, this time I think she'll be a little more prepared but it is not going to help her because I had even begun to unleash the things on the first time that I could have. So she steps it up, I'm going to step it up. So that's pretty much it but I look forward to the challenge, the fact that she wants to fly all the way out here and try again, is enough motivation for me. So, when I stopped her in the third round last time, we'll maybe get her on the second." MEDIA AND OFFICIALS AT THE PRESSER SOUNDBITE (ENGLISH) BOXER LAILA ALI SAYING : " I have my own confidence besides from my father. My father did not take me to the gym, my father did not say Laila box, my father really has nothing to do with my career. Of course, he supports me, he comes to watch me fight but this is something that I have done on my own and I had to go to the gym, I had to prove to myself, through sparring, through training that I was able to do it and obviously, the better you get, the more confidence you have but I have always had confidence that I'll be able to do whatever I want to do and I can be as great as I want to be." OFFICIALS SEATED SOUNDBITE (ENGLISH) BOXER LAILA ALI SAYING : " This maybe one of my last fights for a while. I am not retiring, but for a while because I do want to start a family and I have got some other things that I need to do, and I'm running out of challenges. I originally had another undefeated girl that I wanted to fight on this card, she did not want to fight, but they are now constantly, steadily running their mouths saying they want to fight me, saying I do not want to fight them, everybody will tell you how hard we tried to get them into the ring and they do not want to get in there, and I get faced with, oh! she's fighting this person, that person, she should be fighting xyz, but xyz are cowards. So, hopefully I'll take a little time off, they'll see they'll really cannot get very far without fighting me maybe that'll motivate them to get into the ring, if not, it does not matter. I may decide I do not want to fight anymore, I may have a baby, love motherhood and do not want to get back into the ring but I doubt it because I have a void that I want to fill, anybody who is undefeated that the public thinks that will be a challenge for me, I want to show them that it is impossible to beat me, not in this day and time, you know, maybe in another life."
  • Embargoed: 9th February 2007 12:00
  • Keywords:
  • Location: South Africa
  • Country: South Africa
  • Topics: People,Sports
  • Reuters ID: LVACA6LRDGNIJL166QTARNCDCSY1
  • Story Text: STORY : Laila Ali flew to Johannesburg on Tuesday (January 23), ready for her second attempt to fight Gwendon O'Neil in South Africa. The fight is scheduled for February 3 at Emperor's Palace.
    Laila Ali, the daughter of boxing legend Muhammad Ali, made her boxing debut in 1999 and was successful from the outset. She is the current world super-middleweight champion.
    Her fight against the 36-year-old mother of five, O'Neil, will provide her with the chance keeping her world championship record intact.
    The match comes after Ali flew out of the country in anger last July after a controversial local promoter failed to come up with the fight money she was promised.
    At the time, she indicated that her involvement in a fight in South Africa would somehow honour a one-time wish of her father.
    The embarrassing affair saw another local promoter, Rodney Berman, try to salvage the situation with a promise to ensure that Ali made it into the ring in South Africa this year.
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