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| Ali mеt hiѕ wife, cocktail waitress Sonji Roi, approximately оnе month bеfоrе thеу married оn August 14, 1964 |
Muhammad Ali has died aged 74 after a 32-year battle with Parkinson’s disease.
The heavyweight boxing legend, whose fame transcended the sport during a remarkable career that spanned three decades, died Friday, his family said.
The funeral of the three-time World Heavyweight Champion boxer would be held in his hometown of Louisville, Kentucky.
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| Ali pictured with his 3rd wife Veronica Ali and daughter, Hana. |
He was surrounded by his family, who rushed to be at his bedside on Friday after doctors warned his condition was ‘rapidly deteriorating’, a source said.
It was earlier reported that Ali’s family had started making funeral arrangements after doctors warned that he was just hours from death.
Ali’s wives and children
Ali was married four times and had seven daughters and two sons. Ali met his first wife, cocktail waitress Sonji Roi, approximately one month before they married on August 14, 1964. Roi’s objections to certain Muslim customs in regard to dress for women contributed to the breakup of their marriage. They divorced on January 10, 1966.
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| Ali poses with some of his seven daughters and two sons at his most recent birthday party in January 2016 |
On August 17, 1967, Ali married Belinda Boyd. After the wedding, she, like Ali, converted to Islam. She changed her name to Khalilah Ali, though she was still called Belinda by old friends and family. They had four children: Maryum (born 1968), twins Jamillah and Rasheda (born 1970), and Muhammad Ali, Jr. (born 1972). Maryum has a career as an author and rapper.
In 1975, Ali began an affair with Veronica Porsche, an actress and model. By the summer of 1977, Ali’s second marriage was over and he had married Veronica. At the time of their marriage, they had a baby girl, Hana, and Veronica was pregnant with their second child. Their second daughter, Laila Ali, was born in December 1977. By 1986, Ali and Veronica were divorced.
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| In this Sept. 13, 2012, file photo, Ali, center, waves alongside his wife Lonnie Ali, left, and his sister-in-law Marilyn Williams, right, after receiving the Liberty Medal during a ceremony at the National Constitution Center in Philadelphia. (AP Photo/Matt Slocum, File) |
Laila later became a boxer in 1999, despite her father’s earlier comments against female boxing in 1978: “Women are not made to be hit in the breast, and face like that… the body’s not made to be punched right here [patting his chest]. Get hit in the breast… hard… and all that.”As of 2014, Laila is undefeated in the super middleweight category, with 24 wins, no losses, and no draws.
On November 19, 1986, Ali married Yolanda (“Lonnie”) Williams. They had been friends since 1964 in Louisville. They have one son, Asaad Amin, whom they adopted when Amin was five months old.
Yolanda ‘Lonnie’ Williams
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| Ali with his daughter’s Laila (left) and Hana (right) at his birthday party in January |
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| Ali with wife Lonnie Wiliams in October |
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