Laila Ali melts hearts with childhood photos of her and her father Muhammad Ali

Laila Ali, the daughter of the legendary Muhammad Ali, shared adorable photographs of her in her childhood together with her dad. In the black and white photos, she proves that even though she grew up with a father as mighty as Muhammad, she could still do whatever it is that she liked, as she was always daddy's little girl.

While this seemed to be the case in her carousel of photos, where she flashed different wacky faces with her father trying to tame her down, she revealed in a previous interview with Fatherly that growing up, she was actually never really as much of a daddy's girl as compared to her sister, Hana. This was because she knew that growing up, there were a lot of people who would ride off of her father's fame, and that's something that she never got comfortable with.

Although Laila was the one who ended up being a boxer just like her dad, it was her sister who always wanted to be near him. She, on the other hand, hated the spotlight and being with a lot of strangers. Afraid of not feeling safe around so many men, she never had a close relationship with her dad as compared to her sister as she never wanted to be present in high-publicity occasions, which occurred frequently for the boxer.

Laila adds that another reason why she did not really get along with her father was that she did not practice being a Muslim.

I knew at an early age I did not want to follow that path. I said, look basically, not in these words, I’m not feeling this. 'You’re too young to know,' he told me. I said, 'I’m old enough to know that it’s not in my heart.' He didn’t take it well and he never stopped trying to talk me into being Muslim. Of all his nine children, I’m the only one who said that to him."

Despite this, Laila still continues to spread the love she has for her father, whom she says is much more like her than people think. Just like her headstrong father, she too had goals for herself, that she was so keen on achieving. Up until today, that is something that she is extremely proud of now that she has her own family.