Laila Ali apologised to struggle hero Nelson Mandela and the capacity crowd gathered to witness the second Ali-in-Africa bout, after disposing with West Indian challenger Gwendolyn O’Neil in less than a minute, at the Emperor’s Palace in Gauteng.
Scheduled for 10 rounds of three minutes each, O’Neil managed to close Ali’s left eye as the fight began, but Ali responded with a stiff straight right which left O’Neil on her back for an 8-count.
O’Neil was clearly stunned, and despite getting back to her feet before the count closed, Ali set her back on the canvas with another right, and O’Neil didn’t recover.
Appearing in her 24th professional bout, Ali increased her loss-less record with a 21st knock-out in the first minute of the world’s first professional title fight headlined by women, and retains her WBC and WIBA world titles.
Her stated intend to start a family, Ali said she’d be taking a break from the professional boxing scene, her victory would be her last ‘for a while.’
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