"I think Laila needs to stay in the kitchen."
Muhammad Ali’s ex-wife Khalilah Camacho-Ali is making headlines after throwing some unexpected jabs at her ex-daughter-in-law, Laila Ali. Amid renewed talks of a potential fight between the retired champ and Claressa Shields, Khalilah had a surprising take.
Following Shields’ decisive win over Lani Daniels at Little Caesars Arena in Detroit on Saturday (July 26), Khalilah was asked about the teased matchup and didn’t mince words. “I think Laila needs to stay in the kitchen,” she told Seconds Out, later repeating the remark during Shields’ post-fight press conference. She also declared to Shields, “You the champ. You the champ.”
Shields, who built her record to 17-0 with the victory, responded with a grin and a sharp comeback of her own: “Thank you. I am trying to whoop Laila Ali’s a**.”
The tension between Shields and Ali has been simmering for years, with the two trading verbal shots and Shields’ team even placing $15,000,000 in escrow in an effort to lure Ali into the ring. Shields, 30, has been vocal about wanting the fight with the 47-year-old. Ali retired in 2007 undefeated with a 24-0 record and 21 knockouts.
In a follow-up interview with Seconds Out, Camacho-Ali doubled down on her remarks. “Yeah, she’s a good cook,” she said of Ali, referencing the boxing champ-turned-entrepreneur’s line of seasonings and lifestyle products. “She got all kind of spices in her name.”
Khalilah, who was married to the late boxing legend from 1967 to 1977, didn’t stop there. She suggested that while Laila had success in her era, she lacked the aggression Shields brings to the ring today. “As a fighter, she’s not as good as Claressa,” she declared. “She doesn’t have that bulldog attitude.”
Though Laila once suggested a $15-$20,000,000 purse as her price to return to the ring, Khalilah questioned whether the fight with Shields and a potential loss would be worth the risk to her legacy.
“She’s too old for that and she’s not that good,” she said, later adding that Laila is a “great young woman with a beautiful family” and should let boxing stay in the past.
As of now, Claressa Shields and Laila Ali have not confirmed a boxing match.
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Category: General Sports
