One on One Interview with Laila Ali – by Sue TL Fox

Tonight I had the opportunity to talk with Laila “She Bee-stingin” Ali about her upcoming fight this Friday, November 8, at the Stratoshere Hotel and Casino, in Las   Vegas. Ali and Valerie Mahfood is the mainliner on “Friday Night Fights” on ESPN2. The two will duke it out for the  unification of three belts for the Super-Middleweight division.  Ali gave her cut-to-the-chase insight about her toughest opponent as of yet when she takes on Mahfood, and she talks about other possible fights and what may lie ahead for her in the sport.

TL Fox: How are you feeling about your upcoming fight with Mahfood?

Ali: I’m feeling good, ready to go….can’t wait.

TL Fox: Do you have a prediction as to how the fight will go?

Ali: For me, the main thing is that I win. I know her style. I know my style. I think it will go five or six rounds. I don’t think it will go the distance.

TL Fox: Do you think that Mahfood’s style is a good style for your type of fighting.

Ali: Oh, yeah….perfect.

TL Fox: Now you are a lot taller, do you think that the height will be to your advantage?

Ali: I think the height is always to my advantage because I use it.

TL Fox: When you were recently visiting Bermuda, were you trying to promote a card?

Ali: No, I have friends in Bermuda, and I go visit them, but I was also there for a Celebrity Tennis Classic—and they have been wanting me to come there and fight. My husband was trying to put that together but you know it is very hard—it is another country. So I am not sure if that is going to work out.

TL Fox: I have read that Christy Martin has talked about fighting you and Sumya Anani before she decides to retire—- would you consider fighting Martin?

Ali: If she came up to my weight class, I wouldn’t have any problem fighting her. She is one of the first people who has put her  name out there, and a lot of people are under the assumption that she is one of the best, and I would love to beat her. It wouldn’t be any stupid funny stuff. I’m not coming down—she has to come up. Because I am fit at 168 lbs.

TL Fox:  With your fight with Jacqui Frazier – that card was very successful. Do you think that you would consider fighting Frazier again—since it seems to me that it would be a successful card as a rematch and a real money-maker for you two?

Ali: Well, definitely.  I always thought that after she (Frazier) fought me, that she would quit. (I had to agree with Ali that I thought the same thing.) The thing is…I still feel the same way about Jacqui as I always did.   The bottom line is the  business side of it.  Jacqui obviously wants to fight me, and if we can make it happen, and we can make it happen big—then we can make it happen. She’s in my weight class, and she is a world champion now—-And there’s not that many in my weight class that are challenging anyway. AND I  was not that happy with my performance in that fight (with Frazier), so that has been on my mind—-I definitely will fight her again.

TL Fox: Where do you think you will be in the Sport in 3-4 years.

Ali: Retired. (laugh)

TL Fox: Would you get into acting? You have been on several shows, etc. For instance, tonight you are on Hollywood Squares, and the show “Girlfriend.”

Ali: The things that I do are small, like “Girlfriend.” That is something I can get in, and get out. The one-day jobs. But as far as acting, that is something I would have to think about when I’m done boxing.  Because right now, I have been offered so many different movies. I have been offered Matrix, I have been offered Bad Boys II—-It would take too much time from boxing.

Ali: This is my statement about this fight….A lot of people thought that Suzy Taylor was pretty much done, but I don’t think they thought the fight would be that easy for me. I mean, it looked like she did not even belong in the same ring as me.  What always works in my favor…they believe everything they’ve read, all the criticism,  then they come with this, ‘Oh, I come with all this experience, and I’ve fought better fighters’ —but they don’t realize that a lot of girls that ‘they’ fought—I’m better than.  I just haven’t been able to prove that yet—but the more and more people see, I believe that it’s  not going to be that much different than with Valerie.

So…Watch…that’s what I say.  I don’t think that she is going to quit, but knocked out. Taylor knew she was going to get knocked out, and she wanted to go out on her feet. But WATCH…Valerie Mahfood is going to  get beat up, and knocked out, because she is tough. I like to say it and they are going to see it. She is going to have to pay for all those comments that she made. She had a lot of nasty things to say. She said I was a mut, and I was parading around like a show dog. She said,  If I was on fire, she wouldn’t spit on me, she would let me burn—that is what she said. She said that she was going to drop me in the first round—she had a lot to say. It always seem like I am the one doing all the trash talking, but she made all these comments—I remember them.

Tidbits of comments from Ali: Now for all the boxers that did do some trash talking about Ali, Ali said that she remembers it all….She even said that she has a “hit list” and that ALL of the comments said about her is printed out and placed on her wall!  Ali talked about promotion of boxing. She said, that it is a high priority to always promote the sport. Ali said that she knew that Hollywood Squares would be televised this week, preceding this fight.  And that they were giving free tickets etc., during the commercials.  (The show was taped a month ago.)   Ali said that her fight with Mahfood will be a good fight for television—That her style and Mahfood’s style will make an exciting bout.

A special thanks to Ali’s Team and Laila Ali for making time to be interviewed so close to the fight. Sue TL Fox